Argentine submarine with 44 aboard goes missing

An Argentine submarine with 44 crew members on board has gone missing off the country's Atlantic coast.

Argentina's navy launched a huge search and rescue operation to discover the missing submarine.

The ARA San Juan submarine was last spotted Wednesday in the San Jorge Gulf roughly 432 kilometers (268 miles) off the east coast, CNN reported.

"The navy is conducting operations to resume communications with the ARA 'San Juan' submarine," the navy said on Twitter.

Crews are searching for the vessel by air and sea near its last known location, CNN quoted navy spokesman Enrique Balbi as saying.

According to reports, the diesel-powered 66-metre long Class TR 1700 San Juan was on a voyage from the southernmost city of Ushuaia to the naval base of Mar del Plata when contact was lost.

The governments of the U.S., U.K. and Chile have offered satellites and ships to aid in the search operations.