The U.S. Navy and NASA are assisting in an international effort to track down an Argentine navy submarine with 44 crew members that has been missing for several days.
The lost vessel, the ARA San Juan, has been out of radio contact since Wednesday somewhere around the southern tip of South America in the Atlantic Ocean. However, late Saturday, the Argentine defense ministry said it detected several failed “satellite calls,” likely from the missing submarine, providing some hope that it would soon be found.
The Navy said Saturday that its Undersea Rescue Command is deploying rescue assets to the scene. This follows the arrival of two aircraft that were sent Saturday to assist with in the search: a Navy P-8A Poseidon multi-mission maritime aircraft and a NASA P-3 research aircraft.
BREAKING @USNavy deploys Undersea Rescue Command (URC) to support search for Argentinean Navy submarine A.R.A. San Juan. URC is sending Submarine Rescue Chamber (SRC) & Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV), then Pressurized Rescue Module (US Navy file footage)https://t.co/ZAtomgSs4G pic.twitter.com/i1xkKKV0Vj
— US Southern Command (@southcomwatch) November 18, 2017
“The U.S. government is supporting a request from the government of Argentina for international assistance to the ongoing search for the missing submarine and possible rescue opportunities once the vessel and crew are located,” the Navy said in a press release Saturday.
The National Aeronautics and Space Agency, or NASA, has also offered its assistance with a P-3 Orion research aircraft, agency spokeswoman Katherine Brown told CNN.
The ARA San Juan was last heard from in the San Jorge Gulf of southern Argentina while it was travelling between bases. The submarine was due to arrive at its home base in Mar del Plata on Sunday.
