The Argentine navy says it has abandoned attempts to rescue 44 crew members on board a submarine that disappeared two weeks ago.
“Despite the magnitude of the efforts made, it has not been possible to locate the submarine,” navy spokesman Enrique Balbi said on Thursday.
The sub, the ARA San Juan, last made contact on Wednesday 15 November.
Hopes of finding survivors faded after a suspected explosion was reported near its last-known location.
Why has the navy made this decision?
Capt Balbi said the search for the submarine had been “extended to more than double the number of days that determine the possibilities of rescuing the crew”.
His comment refers to the estimated period that it is thought the crew could have survived in the submerged vessel.
Capt Balbi said that despite not being able to confirm the fate of the crew, “no evidence of a shipwreck was found in the areas explored”.
He said that the “phase had changed” and that the operation, involving numerous vessels and other submarines, was now a hunt for a wreck on the seabed in the area where the ARA San Juan is believed to have vanished.
What happened to the sub?
The ARA San Juan was returning from a routine mission to Ushuaia, near the southernmost 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 had reportedly confirmed that the crew were well.
