1 of 2 2014 file photo shows the ARA San Juan submarine in Buenos Aires Photo: Argentine Navy/Handout via Portal 2014 file photo shows the ARA San Juan submarine in Buenos Aires Photo: Argentine Navy/ Handout via Portal
In the Argentine case, which occurred in November 2017, 44 people died. The submarine ARA San Juan belonged to the Argentine Navy and returned to the naval base after military exercises.
Hours before the disappearance, on November 15, 2017, the submarine’s commander warned of a failure caused by water ingress through a ventilation duct. Water entered the battery compartment and started a fire.
The Argentine Navy said the error had been corrected and the submarine had proceeded. However, the track of the ship was lost.
The search for the Argentine submarine began 48 hours after it disappeared. The operation involved 13 countries, including Brazil, but most stopped work before the end of 2017.
The Argentine government also stopped searching for survivors in December of the same year, leading to a series of protests by family members.
To put pressure on the government, victims’ families camped for 52 days in 2018 in Plaza de Mayo, in front of the Argentine Presidency headquarters in Buenos Aires. The protest led to the American company Ocean Infinity being hired to resume the pursuit of the submarine.
The search with Ocean Infinity began in September 2018. After two months of use with ships and drones, the company even announced that it was giving up the search. But on the day the disappearance ended a year ago, the company said it had discovered the ship’s possible location.
2 of 2 Argentine submarine located — Photo: Juliane Souza/G1 Argentine submarine located — Photo: Juliane Souza/G1
The North American case
The submarine that disappeared off the US coast on Sunday (18th) is undertaking expeditions by the OceanGate company. According to the authorities, there were five passengers on board.
The tourist expedition visits the remains of the Titanic, which lies about 600 km off the coast of Canada. Visiting the wreck of the ship that sank in 1912 costs US$250,000 (R$1.19 million).
The journey takes eight days. For the descent to the wreck site, located at a depth of 3,800 meters in the Atlantic Ocean, the submersible takes about eight hours (the descent takes 2.5 hours and the return to the surface another 2.5 hours).
The US Coast Guard said the location of the search for the missing submarine is in a remote area at a depth of more than 3,900 meters. The Canadian Armed Forces are also taking part in the operation.
The submarine that takes tourists to the Titanic disappears into the Atlantic