MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) – Argentina’s President Mauricio Macri expressed readiness on Saturday to accept international assistance in search and rescue activities for the missing ARA San Juan submarine.
"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.
The UK embassy in Buenos Aires, in turn, said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Protector ice patrol ship had been deployed to the search and rescue operation area at the Argentine government’s request to assist it.
READ MORE: Argentine Submarine Goes Missing for Two Days, Major Search Op Underway
The statement comes amid the report that the submarine with 44 crew on board has been missing since its last communication on Wednesday en route from the port of Ushuaia to the coastal city of Mar del Plata in Buenos Aires province. Aircraft and vessels have been searching the area where the ARA San Juan was last detected. So far, Chilean, UK, and US authorities have offered Argentina their assistance in the search for the missing submarine.
