MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The crew of Argentina's missing submarine San Juan communicated with a base in Mar del Plata eight times on November 15, the day it went missing, media reported.
The Tesacom satellite services company released data on the San Juan's communications with the first four calls registered between 1:11 a.m. and 1:50 a.m. (04:11-04:50 GMT) and the second wave of calls registered at 6:10 a.m. (09:10 GMT), according to the broadcaster Todo Noticias.
The submarine's last contact was registered at 7:36 a.m. (10:36 GMT) with the longest conversation lasting 13 minutes.
Argentine Navy spokesman Enrique Balbi has confirmed that the list of calls was received.
READ MORE: Argentine Navy Determines Two Possible Areas of Location of Missing Submarine
"The first calls the captain made to report a malfunction, a short circuit and the beginning of a fire with smoke and without a flame…. The second call contained a request to change the route to reduce the number of days spent on the high seas," Balbi said.
Russian oceanographic research ship arrives in San Juan submarine search zone | #World
— RTGWorld (@RTGWorld) 6 декабря 2017 г.
The ARA San Juan, a submarine with 44 crew members on board stopped communicating during a routine patrol in the South Atlantic off the coast of Argentina on November 15. According to some media reports, an explosion could have taken place on board the submarine.
#Exclusive Argentina's navy on Thursday formally ends its search for survivors from the San Juan submarine, two weeks after the vessel went missing in the South Atlantic with 44 crew aboard. pic.twitter.com/1R1OHXWDTl
— CSNSI (@CSNSIDotCom) 1 декабря 2017 г.
On November 30, the Navy announced that it had halted its weeks-long operation to rescue the crew of the missing submarine; however, the search for the sub will continue.
