Enrique Balbi, spokesman for the Argentine Navy (ARA), speaks during a press conference about Argentine's missing submarine ARA San Juan, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Nov. 23, 2017. Argentina's Navy confirmed on Thursday that there was a "singular, abnormal, short, violent and non-nuclear event" consistent with an explosion in the area where the submarine was lost. (Xinhua/Victoria Egurza/TELAM)
BUENOS AIRES, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Argentina's Navy confirmed on Thursday that there was a "singular, abnormal, short, violent and non-nuclear event" consistent with an explosion in the area where the submarine was lost.
The event had been confirmed by two sources, "the U.S. and a nuclear testing control agency in Austria, which has a network of hydroacoustic seismic stations," Enrique Balbi, spokesman for the Argentine Navy (ARA), told reporters here.
The submarine, ARA San Juan, went missing in the South Atlantic on Nov. 15 with 44 crew members on board. The sub was originally scheduled to arrive Monday at the Mar del Plata Navy Base, about 250 miles (400 kilometers) southeast of Buenos Aires.
According to Balbi, the event was "consistent with an explosion" and occurred in the area in which contact with the vessel was lost.
The ARA San Juan's last known position was in the San Jorge Gulf area, 240 nautical miles (432 kilometers) southeast of the Valdes peninsula, in the South Atlantic.
The submarine lost all contact at 7:30 a.m. on Nov. 15 and the explosion was detected at 10:31 a.m. that same day.
Balbi said that "we are continuing to look for the submarine and the 44 crewmen. Until now, there is no certainty or evidence, the search will continue."
He also denounced any rumors that the submarine had been attacked, saying there was no evidence of an attack.
