Backlash at Argentina: Officials DIDN'T know about missing submarine until press reports
ARGENTINA'S Government only found out about the navy's missing submarine after reading about it in the press, its defence minister has revealed.
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The revelations come as President Mauricio Macri blasted naval commanders over their handling of the crisis of the sub's disappearance.
Defence Minister Oscar Aguad didn't even find out about the “anomalies” reported by the commander of the submarine until 48 hours after the vessel's last contact, sources told Argentinian newspaper La Nación.
Mr Aguad has called 40 inquiries into why the ARA San Juan has gone missing and President Macri declared he wants to remove the head of the Navy, Marcelo Srur.
The families of crew members have hit out at the government questioning why the crew were allowed out in an ageing vessel.
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Itatí Leguizamón, wife of the San Juan’s sonar operator Germán Suárez, said: “They sent a piece of s**t out to navigate.
“We don’t believe they didn’t know from before. They’re perverse b******s who’ve had us here for a week.”
She also claimed her husband had told her about an incident in 2014 when the San Juan had been unable to surface.
Elena Alfaro, another relative, told the TN news network: “I feel like I’m at a wake. I also feel time passing and time is crucial.”
A huge sea and air hunt is being conducted for the San Juan submarine after it went missing last week with 44 members of crew on board.
Yesterday navy spokesman Enrique Balbi revealed that an abnormal sound was detected in the South Atlantic ocean “consistent with an explosion” near to where the vessel was last detected.
A huge scale investigation is being launched into the disappearance, and the President plans to remove the head of the Navy, Marcelo Srur.
He has hit out at Mr Srur after his distrust of the help offered by Chile, Brazil and Britain delayed the search and rescue mission.
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Argetinian news site Infobae reports Defence Minister Aguad demanded that Major Srur present a comprehensive report on the circumstances that led to the disappearance of ARA San Juan.
He wants to know if the ship had its original German batteries, why it wasn’t accompanied by corvette warships, if it was immediately ordered to return to Buenos Aires, and why the fact the submarine had lost contact with Naval control was kept from him for 48 hours.
The San Juan was traditionally escorted by two ‘coveted’ warships when carrying out illegal fishing controls, and relatives have questioned why the submarine wasn't accompanied on this journey.
Enrique Balbi, the navy spokesman, said the submarine "not being an emergency, did not have to be accompanied by two surface units".
Argentina missing submarine: Latest pictures from the search
Thu, November 23, 2017Argentinian authorities with the support of foreign governments seek the ARA San Juan, a submarine with which there is no communication since 15 November
People react as family and friends of the 44 crew members of the missing at sea ARA San Juan submarine gather at an Argentine naval base in Mar del Plata
The site also reports that President Macri can’t sleep because of the crisis, and has vowed to tell the relatives of the crew the truth.
Mr Aguad led a crisis committee in the ministry and met with President Mauricio Macri, who yesterday spoke on the phone with his counterpart Vladimir Putin.
As part of that dialogue, Aguad agreed with Russian Defense Minister Serguei Shoigu to coordinate the dispatch of a Russian vessel with specialised rescue equipment to help in the search for the missing submarine.
The Russian vessel will join an international coordinated search for the missing submarine.
