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Buenos Aires, Argentina –
An Argentine submarine that has been missing for almost a year has been found at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.
The Navy and the Argentine Defense Ministry confirmed Friday night that the remains of the ARA San Juan submarine were in the South Atlantic Ocean at a depth of about 800 meters (about half a mile) , about 700 miles east of the Argentine city. from Puerto Madryn.
The families of the 44 crew members who died in the accident were summoned to the naval base of Mar del Plata to be officially informed this weekend.
The South American country authorities lost radio contact with the San Juan on November 15, 2017 and were unable to locate the missing submarine in the following days and months. President Mauricio Macri declared a period of mourning from Saturday.
"Their sense of purpose, sacrifice and self-sacrifice for the nation should inspire us all," Macri said in Spanish, according to the Associated Press. "They are an example of life for all Argentines, and as a tribute to all, we will declare national mourning for three days."
The submarine was discovered Friday by the US company Ocean Infinity, in charge of the search operation. The company sent mini-submarines to the seabed and one of them came back with a final picture of the wreck of the submarine. In the deal with the Argentine government between the Houston-based company and the discovery of the wreck of the submarine would result in a payment of $ 7.5 million.
The same company has entered into a similar deal with the Malaysian government to find Malaysia Airlines flight 370 earlier this year – but failed in its research.
Sitting on the Norwegian ship Seabed Constructor, the 40-member Ocean Infinity team of specialists sailed on September 8th and was on her last day of work before returning to port when she She received indications of wrecks or geological formation of 60 meters long at a depth of 800 meters. They had already studied two dozen other possibilities in vain.
Three members of the Argentine Navy and four individuals representing the families were also onboard the Ocean Infinity research vessel. Luis Tagliapietra, the father of the missing crew member, Alejandro, told ABC News that he was tired and frustrated as the boat began returning to port after more than two months of research.
Attempts to communicate with Tagliapietra or other members of the family aboard the research vessel were unsuccessful on Friday night.
The federal judge who investigated the San Juan accident, Marta Yáñez, has shown herself optimistic about the potential for disaster research through newly discovered images: "It's one thing to do approximations, it's a whole different thing to analyze the images we have so that the specialists can evaluate what has actually happened. "
A number of Navy officials are currently under investigation for apparently allowing the submarine to go on a long-term mission while they were warned of mechanical problems that deserved immediate attention, according to testimony before a federal court.
Admiral Marcelo Srur, chief of the Argentine Navy, was demolished last December following the disappearance of the submarine.
The ship was engaged in a drill at the time of the loss of contact and had only seven days of oxygen on board.
