Sound in Atlantic not from missing Argentine submarine

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A sound detected in the South Atlantic on Monday near the site where an Argentine navy submarine with 44 crew members on board disappeared five days ago is not believed to have come from the ill-fated vessel, a navy spokesman said.

The sound detected by probes initially raised hopes that crew members aboard the ARA San Juan submarine, which disappeared after reporting an electrical malfunction, may have been intentionally making noise to attract rescuers.

But an analysis by Argentine authorities, on the fourth day of a search-and-rescue mission, showed that it was highly unlikely it had come from the German-built submarine, navy spokesman Enrique Balbi told reporters in Buenos Aires.

A crew member of the Argentine military submarine ARA San Juan works on the vessel at the port of Buenos Aires, Argentina, June 2, 2014. /Reuters Photo

“It does not correspond to a pattern that would be consistent with bangs against the walls in morse code,” Balbi said. He described whatever had been detected as “a continuous, constant sound.”

The disappointment followed another letdown earlier in the day, when the navy said satellite calls detected over the weekend did not in fact come from the vessel.

The vessel reported an electrical problem and was headed back to base in the port of Mar del Plata when it disappeared on Wednesday, the navy said.

Storms have complicated search operations.

More than a dozen boats and aircraft from Argentina, the United States, the United Kingdom, Chile and Brazil have joined in search efforts.

Authorities have mainly been scanning the sea from the sky, as storms have made it difficult for boats.

The Argentine military submarine ARA San Juan and crew are seen leaving the port of Buenos Aires, Argentina, June 2, 2014. /Reuters Photo‍

The navy said on Monday night that two boats belonging to French oil company Total SA, which has offshore operations in Argentina, arrived at the Patagonian port of Comodoro Rivadavia to transport rescue equipment the US Navy brought to the country, including a remote-operated vehicle, a mini-submarine and a submarine rescue chamber.

Naval commander Gabriel Galeazzi told reporters that the submarine had come up from the depths and reported the unspecified electrical malfunction before it disappeared nearly 300 miles off the coast.

“The submarine surfaced and reported a malfunction, which is why its ground command ordered it to return to its naval base at Mar del Plata,” he said.

Source(s): Reuters