Image copyright AFP Image caption Relatives have fought to ensure their loved ones were found

The wreckage of a submarine which went missing with 44 crew on board a year ago has been found, the Argentine navy says.

The ARA San Juan submarine disappeared 430km (270 miles) off the Argentine coast on 15 November 2017.

The navy stopped its rescue mission two weeks after the sub's disappearance.

However, a year and a day after it went missing, officials announced it had been found 800m (2,620ft) below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean.

According to a tweet from the Argentine navy, the ARA San Juan had been positively identified under the water by a US company.

The navy had earlier shared a picture from the seabed, suggesting a 60m-long object might be the missing submarine.

Relatives gathered to remember their loved ones earlier this week, while President Mauricio Macri promised to keep up the search for the submarine.

What happened to the sub?

The ARA San Juan was returning from a routine mission to Ushuaia, near the southern tip of South America, when it reported an "electrical breakdown".

According to naval commander Gabriel Galeazzi, the submarine surfaced and reported what was described as a "short circuit" in the vessel's batteries.

The sub was ordered to cut its mission short and return to the naval base in Mar del Plata immediately.

The Argentine navy's last contact with the vessel was at approximately 07:30 (10:30 GMT) on 15 November, at which point its captain reportedly confirmed that the crew were well.

Eight days after the sub vanished, the Vienna-based Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Organisation said that it had detected a noise a few hours after the sub's last contact.

The body, which operates a network of listening posts to monitor nuclear explosions, said that there had been a "hydro-acoustic anomaly" about 30 nautical miles (60km) north of the sub's last-known position at 10:31 (13:31 GMT).

The Argentine navy said it could have been the sound of the submarine imploding.

Navy spokesman Enrique Balbi told reporters last year that water had entered the submarine's snorkel, which can be used to take in air from above the surface when the submarine is submerged.

The saltwater dripped on to a battery tray in the prow, causing the battery to short circuit and to smoulder, he said. The sub had reported the fault and had been ordered back to base but then disappeared.</s>Ocean Infinity, the seabed exploration company, confirms that it has found ARA San Juan, the Argentine Navy submarine which was lost on 15 November 2017.

In the early hours of 17 November, after two months of seabed search, Ocean Infinity located what has now been confirmed as the wreckage of the ARA San Juan. The submarine was found in a ravine in 920m of water, approximately 600 km east of Comodoro Rivadavia in the Atlantic Ocean.

"Our thoughts are with the many families affected by this terrible tragedy. We sincerely hope that locating the resting place of the ARA San Juan will be of some comfort to them at what must be a profoundly difficult time. Furthermore, we hope our work will lead to their questions being answered and lessons learned which help to prevent anything similar from happening again.

We have received a huge amount of help from many parties who we would like to thank. We are particularly grateful to the Argentinian Navy whose constant support and encouragement was invaluable. In addition,the United Kingdom's Royal Navy, via the UK Ambassador in Buenos Aires, made a very significant contribution. Numerous others,including the US Navy's Supervisor of Salvage and Diving, have supported us with expert opinion and analysis.Finally, I would like to extend a special thank you to the whole Ocean Infinity team, especially those offshore as well as our project leaders Andy Sherrell and Nick Lambert, who have all worked tirelessly for this result."

Ocean Infinity used five Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) to carry out the search, which was conducted by a team of approximately 60 crew members on board Seabed Constructor. In addition, three officers of the Argentine Navy and four family members of the crew of the ARA San Juan joined Seabed Constructor to observe the search operation.

Ocean Infinity had committed to conduct the search operation for up to sixty days, and to take on the economic risk of the search, only receiving payment if the submarine was found.

Ocean Infinity's permanently mobilised ocean search capability is the most technologically advanced in the world. Their AUV's are capable of operating in water depths from 5 meters to 6,000 meters and covering vast areas of the seabed at unparalleled speed. The AUVs are not tethered to their host vessel during operations, allowing them to go deeper and collect higher quality data for the search. They are equipped with a variety of tools including side scan sonar, a multi-beam echo-sounder HD camera, and synthetic aperture sonar. In addition, from the host vessel, Ocean Infinity is able to deploy two work class ROVs and heavy lifting equipment capable of retrieving objects weighing up to 45T from 6000m.</s>Almost precisely a year later, authorities have found the ARA San Juan, the Argentine submarine that went missing on Nov. 15, 2017, with all 44 people on board reported missing still unaccounted for.



According to the BBC, the vessel was located by hydrographic survey company Ocean Infinity’s Seabed Constructor, and preliminary signs indicate that the vessel imploded:

Officials announced on Friday that it had been found 900m (2,950ft) below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean. “It appears to be complete, but it obviously imploded,” said navy commander Gabriel Attis. He said the hull was “totally deformed, collapsed and imploded” and debris was scattered over an area of about 70m (229ft).

Per the Washington Post, the implosion appears to be consistent with prior reports that the ARA San Juan’s captain reported a short-circuit in a battery after seawater filled the ship’s snorkel. Authorities detected a blast that could have been the result of a “concentration of hydrogen.”

“It’s one thing to do guesswork,” federal judge Marta Yáñez told the Post. “It’s a whole different matter to analyze the images we have so specialists can assess what really happened.”



The submarine was built in the 1980s and was past its 30-year projected lifespan, according to CNN, but it was retrofitted “with new engines and batteries around five years before its disappearance.” If it survived the explosion, it would not have been able to withstand pressure below a depth of 1,640 to 1,970 feet (500-600 meters), CNN added.

Argentine Minister of Defense Carlos Aguad did not tell reporters at a press conference whether it would be possible to recover the vessel, Reuters reported, though he did say the government does not currently have the means to do so. Argentina has one of the lowest per capita military budgets in the region, and some family members of the missing crew have blamed the government for underfunding the Navy, Reuters wrote. According to the Post, investigators determined that Navy officials sent the submarine on missions despite mechanical problems.

“Much of what happens from here will have to be resolved by the justice department,” Aguad said. “If there is someone responsible, they will be held responsible.”

Over a dozen international partners including the U.S. helped the Argentine Navy search for the ARA San Juan for weeks, though the search was stymied by rough weather and was eventually called off it became increasingly unlikely that any crew could have survived.

According to ABC News, Argentine officials offered Ocean Infinity $7.5 million to find the submarine’s wreckage, and it was discovered by the company’s mini-submarines on the last day before the Seabed Constructor was expected to return to port.</s>The wreckage of an Argentine navy submarine which exploded and disappeared one year ago with 44 crew was found in the Atlantic Ocean on Friday, the navy said.

There has been "positive identification of the ARA San Juan," 800 meters (yards) deep by the Ocean Infinity, a statement from the navy said, referring to a US company involved in the search.</s>The wreck of an Argentine submarine that exploded and disappeared has been found almost exactly a year after it went missing.

The ARA San Juan submarine was located in the Atlantic Ocean on Friday, said the navy, crushing the last hopes for relatives of the 44 crew.

There has been 'positive identification of the ARA San Juan,' at a depth of 2,600 feet, a statement on Twitter from the navy said.

The Seabed Constructor, a vessel owned by US search firm Ocean Infinity, which set out in September on the latest attempt to find the San Juan, made the discovery.

The navy lost contact with the submarine on November 15 last year, about 280 miles from the Argentine coast.

It was on its way back to base from Ushuaia at the southern tip of Argentina.

The families of the 44 crew members who perished in the accident have been summoned to be officially informed.

Luis Niz, the father of one of the missing sailors said: 'I still had hopes that they could be alive.'

Yolanda Mendiola, the mother of crewman Leandro Cisneros, 28, said: 'We are with the other relatives. They are going to show us the photos. They say that our youngsters are inside.

'We are all destroyed here.'

Navy spokesman, Rodolfo Ramallo, told Todo Noticias TV that the Ocean Infinity ship 'decided to do a new search and, thanks to God, it was able to find the zone.

'Now another chapter opens. From the analysis of the state in which the submarine has been found, we will see how to proceed.'

The navy has been fiercely criticized for its handling of the operation since first reporting the submarine overdue at Mar del Plata on November 16, 2017.

It was only several days into the tragedy that navy officials acknowledged the old, German-built submarine had reported a problem with its batteries in its final communication of November 15.

Nearly 10 days later, the navy confirmed there had been an explosion on board, which experts said was likely linked to the battery problem.

An air and sea search involved units from 13 countries but the majority withdrew before the end of 2017, as the wintry South Atlantic refused to give up its secrets.

The Seabed Constructor is equipped with cameras that can be submerged to a depth of 6,000 meters. It was to receive a reward of $7.5 million if it found the missing sub.

Before it departed for its mission, Luis Tagliapietra, whose son Alejandro was a lieutenant on the San Juan, described it as 'the last opportunity to find them.'

Ocean Infinity was also assigned the task of searching for the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 which vanished without trace in March 2014 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.</s>An Argentine submarine that went missing almost exactly one year ago has been found at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.

The Argentine Navy and Defense Ministry confirmed late Friday evening that the remains of the ARA San Juan submarine had been located in the south Atlantic Ocean at a depth of about 800 meters (approximately a half mile), about 700 miles due east of the Argentine city of Puerto Madryn.

The families of the 44 crew members who perished in the accident have been summoned to Mar del Plata Naval Base to be officially informed this weekend.

The sub was discovered by U.S. company Ocean Infinity, which was in charge of the search operation. The company sent out mini-submarines to the seabed and one returned with definitive photo evidence of the wreckage of the submarine. In the deal the Houston-based company made with the Argentine government, finding the wreckage of the submarine would trigger a payment of $7.5 million.

The same company struck a similar deal with the Malaysian government to find Malaysia Airlines flight 370 earlier this year -- but came up empty in its search.

Utilizing the Norwegian ship Seabed Constructor, the 40-member team of specialists from Ocean Infinity set sail on Sept. 8 and were on their last day of work before heading back to port when they received indications of a 60-meter long wreckage or geological formation at a depth of 800 meters. They had already studied two dozen other such possibilities to no avail.

Three personnel from the Argentine Navy and four persons representing the families were also on board Ocean Infinity's search vessel. Luis Tagliapietra, father of missing crew member Alejandro, told ABC News just two days ago that he was tired and frustrated as the ship began to head back to port after over two months of searching.

Attempts at communication with Tagliapietra or other family members aboard the search vessel were unsuccessful on Friday night.

The federal judge investigating the San Juan accident, Marta Yáñez, was optimistic about the potential for research into the disaster with the newly discovered images: "It's one thing to do guesswork, it's a whole different matter to analyze the images we have so specialists can assess what really happened."

A number of naval officials are under investigation for allegedly allowing the submarine to go on an extended mission when they had been warned of mechanical problems that warranted immediate attention, according to testimony in federal court.

Adm. Marcelo Srur, the head of the Argentine Navy, was axed last December in the wake of the submarine going missing.

The ship was taking part in a military exercise at the time it lost contact, and had just seven days worth of oxygen on board.</s>Buenos Aires: A missing Argentinian Navy submarine has been found a year and a day after it went missing.

The ARA San Juan was found at an unspecified location in the Atlantic Ocean at a depth of 800 metres, the Argentine Navy said in a statement retweeted by the country's defence ministry.

"Positive identification has been given to ARA San Juan," the tweet stated.

A massive international search was launched after the submarine disappeared on November 15 last year but hopes of finding the crew of 44 alive were given up two weeks later and the search was scaled down.</s>The submarine ARA San Juan that vanished in the Atlantic over a year ago with 44 sailors on board has finally been detected at a depth of 800 meters, the Argentine military has confirmed.The ARA San Juan was discovered by Ocean Infinity, an American company contracted by the Argentine military to lead the search effort. The company's vessel, Seabed Constructor, "has positively identified" the missing submarine lying at a chilling depth of 800 meters, the Argentine Navy confirmed in a tweet on Saturday morning.Previously, the navy said the Seabed Constructor detected what it said was "a point of interest." The object was approximately 60 meters long and its shape resembled a submarine hull."The #and the #ArmadaArgentina report that on the day of the date, having investigated the point of interest N ° 24 reported by Ocean Infinity, through observation made with a ROV at 800 meters deep, has been given positive #AraSanJuan identification"Relatives of missing sailors were notified before the news was broken by Argentine media. It also comes just days after families of the submariners gathered at Mar del Plata naval base to commemorate and mourn their loved ones."##LaBúsquedaContinúa Update: The company reported new point of interest on Site 1 Area 15a-4, at 800 meters deep. The point of interest has a dimension of 60 mts in length. Time of arrival to the area to start research 19:00 hours approximately."Now, with the submarine lying so deep on the seabed, it may be nearly impossible to know what happened to it. The navy will seek to determine if the San Juan can be raised from its current spot.One year ago, the ARA San Juan, laid down in 1983 in German shipyards, went missing in the Atlantic with 44 crew on board. The sub was on a routine mission, and its sudden disappearance gave birth to numerous theories and rumors.Local media reported that before communication with the submarine was lost, its captain reported a short circuit caused by the entry of sea water into the battery compartment.A fire breaking out inside could have triggered a blast on board, the navy said at the time, adding that its listening posts detected "abnormal, singular, short, violent" sounds "consistent with an explosion."The search for the diesel-electric submarine started immediately, involving ships and aircraft manned by personnel from 13 countries. On November 30, after a 15-day operation, the navy decided to end the operation. The rescuers allowed for twice the possible time that the crew could have remained alive.In the months that followed, reports on the fate of the submariners continued to swirl in local media, including that the San Juan was being shadowed by the British and Chilean military around the time of its disappearance.Jesica Medina, a local woman, reported her brother telling her that the submarine was sailing close to the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) when a Royal Navy helicopter started chasing them down, along with a Chilean ship."On Monday, an English helicopter was looking for us, and yesterday the Chileans, there has been a lot going on," second sub-officer Roberto Medina told his sister in the message, according to Argentina's La Gaceta newspaper. There was no official confirmation.But the newspaper report revived memories of the brief 1982 UK-Argentina war over the disputed islands, in which 655 Argentine and 255 British servicemen lost their lives. Argentina still claims the islands as its own. The issue has emerged in recent years again as Britain has begun to explore possible offshore oilfields in the area.</s>The Argentine submarine, located on the seabed a year after it went missing with 44 crew on board, had imploded, the Argentine navy has confirmed.

The ARA San Juan disappeared 430km (270 miles) off the Argentine coast on 15 November 2017.

Officials announced on Friday that it had been found 900m (2,950ft) below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean.

"It appears to be complete, but it obviously imploded," said navy commander Gabriel Attis.

He said the hull was "totally deformed, collapsed and imploded" and debris was scattered over an area of about 70m (229ft).

The wreck was found by the Seabed Constructor, a ship owned by US search firm Ocean Infinity.
• Who are the crew of the missing Argentine submarine?

After the sub went missing, the Vienna-based Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO) said it had detected a noise a few hours after the vessel's last contact.

The Argentine navy said at the time it could have been the sound of the sub imploding but this was not confirmed until Saturday.

The exact cause of the implosion has yet to be established.

Yolanda Mendiola, the mother of missing sailor Leandro Cisneros, 28, said families of the crew had been brought together by the navy to learn the latest details.

"We are with the other relatives. They are going to show us the photos. They say that our youngsters are inside," she said.

"We are all destroyed here."

The discovery came a day after relatives had gathered at a sombre ceremony to remember their loved ones. President Mauricio Macri attended and promised to keep up the search for the submarine.

What do we know happened?

The ARA San Juan was returning from a routine mission to Ushuaia, near the southern tip of South America, when it reported an "electrical breakdown".

According to naval commander Gabriel Galeazzi, the submarine surfaced and reported what was described as a "short circuit" in the vessel's batteries.

The sub was ordered to cut its mission short and return to the naval base in Mar del Plata immediately.

The Argentine navy's last contact with the vessel was at approximately 07:30 (10:30 GMT) on 15 November, at which point its captain reportedly confirmed that the crew were well.
• What happens when a submarine vanishes

Eight days after the sub vanished, the CTBTO - which operates a network of listening posts to monitor nuclear explosions - said that there had been a "hydro-acoustic anomaly" about 30 nautical miles (60km) north of the sub's last-known position at 10:31 (13:31 GMT).

Last year, navy spokesman Enrique Balbi told reporters that water had entered the submarine's snorkel, which can be used to take in air from above the surface when the submarine is submerged.

The saltwater dripped on to a battery tray in the prow, causing the battery to short circuit and to smoulder, he said. The sub had reported the fault and had been ordered back to base but then disappeared.

Argentine authorities later launched a criminal investigation into the disappearance.</s>The Argentine Navy said on Saturday a private company hired by the government has located the submarine ARA San Juan some 800 meters (2625 feet) below the ocean's surface a year after it went missing with 44 crew members aboard.

The San Juan had a seven-day supply of air when it last reported its position on Nov. 15, 2017. The crew had been ordered to return to a naval base at Mar del Plata on the country's east coast, after reporting water had entered the vessel through its snorkel.
The Argentine Navy announces that ARA San Juan (S-42), an Argentine submarine that disappeared on November 15, 2017, with 44 crew onboard, has been found on the seabed in the South Atlantic Ocean.