Satellite signals give hope to search for missing submarine

MAR DEL PLATA, ARGENTINA: A search and rescue operation for an Argentine navy submarine missing in the South Atlantic with 44 crew members aboard reached its third day on Sunday, after failed satellite calls likely from the vessel raised hopes the crew are alive.
The U. S. Navy said early Sunday morning it would send an aircraft with 21 personnel from Jacksonville, Florida, to assist with the search for the German-built ARA San Juan, which was 432 km (268 miles) off Argentina´s southern Atlantic coast when it sent its last communication early on Wednesday. The submarine likely tried to make seven satellite calls on Saturday between late morning and early afternoon, the Argentine defense ministry said. Stormy weather likely interfered with the calls, and the government was working with an unidentified US company specialized in satellite communication to trace the location. “Yesterday´s news was something of a respite for us, to know that there is life,” Claudio Rodriguez, the brother of a crew member, said in an interview with television channel A24 on Sunday morning. The new US navy aircraft would join another US aircraft and Argentine planes and sea vessels scouring the southern sea as whipping winds and more than 20-foot waves hindered the search. Nations from Chile to Britain and South Africa also offered help.