MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to the Defense Ministry of Argentina, the calls were received by various naval bases between 10:52 a.m. and 3:42 p.m. local time (13:52 GMT and 18:42 GMT), but no connection with the submarine could be established.
"Seven satellite calls, which could be emitted by San Juan submarine, were registered today; the calls' length was between four and 36 seconds," the ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
The United States is sending the Submarine Rescue Chamber and underwater intervention Remotely Operated Vehicle to Argentina to help search for the missing San Juan submarine, the US Naval Forces Southern Command said in a statement.
"Three US Air Force C-17 Globemaster III and one US Air Force C-5 Galaxy aircraft will transport the first rescue system, the Submarine Rescue Chamber (SRC) and underwater intervention Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) from Miramar to Comodoro Rivadavia, Argentina. The four aircraft are scheduled to depart Miramar Nov. 18 and arrive in Argentina Nov. 19," the US Naval Forces Southern Command said in a statement on Saturday.
The US Navy will be deploying its Undersea Rescue Command (URC) based in San Diego to assist Argentina.
Chilean, UK and US authorities have offered Argentina their assistance in the search for a missing vehicle. Argentina's President Mauricio Macri expressed readiness on Saturday to accept international assistance in search and rescue activities.
"We must use all national and international resources necessary to locate the San Juan submarine as soon as possible," Macri wrote on Twitter.
Estamos comprometidos a utilizar todos los recursos nacionales e internacionales que sean necesarios para hallar al submarino ARA San Juan lo antes posible.
— Mauricio Macri (@mauriciomacri) 18 ноября 2017 г.
The Argentine authorities reman in constant contact with the relatives of the missing submarine crew, the president added.
Argentine naval spokesman Enrique Balbi earlier said that the submarine may have suffered a communications error. According to the newspaper Clarín, the submarine could have experieced a fire or a technical failure.
One of the Twitter users wrote in his account the missing crew included the first woman submariner in Argentina and South America at large.
Eliana María Krawczyk, 1st female submariner in Argentina & SouthAm, is one of 44 crew on the 'San Juan', @Armada_Arg sub missing more than 2 days somewhere south of Falkland Islands https://t.co/ZzpdUV7W76 pic.twitter.com/TptWfaErFg
— Will Willitts (@WillWillAFR) 18 ноября 2017 г.
According to national Argentine newspaper La Nacion, the submarine, which is 66 meters long, has a diesel-electric vessel that underwent a complex repair and engineering work in 2008, was constructed in Germany in 1985 and joined the Argentine Navy a year later.
