Argentina says flares seen are unlikely to be from submarine

A US aircraft searching for a missing Argentine submarine with 44 crew members aboard has spotted white flares, but they're unlikely to be from the sub that has been lost for six days in the South Atlantic, the Argentine navy said today.
The ARA San Juan submarine went missing on last Wednesday as it journeyed from the extreme southern port of Ushuaia to the coastal city of Mar del Plata. More than a dozen international vessels and aircraft have joined in a maritime search that has become a race against the clock.
The sub carries enough food, oxygen and fuel for the crew to survive about 90 days on the sea's surface. But it only has enough oxygen to last seven days if submerged.

"In the worst-case scenario, in the critical phase, where it could not come to the surface by its own means or renew its air and oxygen, we'd be in the sixth day of oxygen," Navy spokesman Enrique Balbi told reporters.
The San Juan carries red and green flares, Balbi said, but authorities will still try to identify the origin of the white signals. He also said that a life raft that was found in the search area early Tuesday doesn't belong to the submarine and likely fell off another vessel.
"We're evaluating where the flares came from. For now, based on the colour, they don't belong to the submarine," Balbi said. "It's quite common that ships pass by that area and also common that with the waves and the rocking, they can lose a raft."

An Argentine navy official said yesterday that the submarine reported a battery failure on Wednesday and was returning to base when it went missing.

Weather conditions that have hindered the search are expected to improve today, helping search teams comb a wider area, Balbi said.
The US Navy has also sent its Undersea Rescue Command to Argentina to support the search for the submarine. The command includes a remotely operated vehicle and vessels which are capable of rescuing people from bottomed submarines.
The submarine was originally scheduled to arrive yesterday at the navy's base in Mar del Plata, about 400 kilometres southeast of Buenos Aires.

Relatives of the crew members have gathered at the base to receive psychological counselling and wait for news about their loved ones.
Hopes were buoyed after brief satellite calls were received and when sounds were detected deep in the South Atlantic. But experts later determined that neither was from the missing sub.