Latest San Juan statement: short circuit and fire

Latest statement from ARA San Juan with control bases was announced by the Argentine channel

The Argentine television channel A24 revealed Monday night the contents of the last message between the disappeared submarine ARA San Juan and the bases of control in the continent. The text, sent on the morning of November 15, testifies that a water intake by the ventilation system "caused a short circuit and a fire principle" in the tank of batteries.

"Entry of sea water by the ventilation system in battery tank No. 3 caused short circuit and fire principle in the area of battery bars," reads the statement released by the Argentine channel, which continues: "Batteries of the bow out of service. At the moment in immersion, propulsion with split circuit. No news of staff. I'll keep you informed. " 

Navy spokesman Enrique Balbi confirmed the statement but asked for caution. "The problem was solved, they isolated the battery and sailed with another circuit," said the military, who left open the possibility of an "implosion" in the submarine, because "a fire could have happened, a fast combustion that consumes oxygen" .

A "hydroacoustic anomaly" detected on the morning of November 15 was pointed out by the Argentine Navy as "an anomalous event, singular, short, violent and non-nuclear, consistent with an explosion . " The information came from the ambassador of Argentina in Austria, and matches with records indicated in a report compiled by the United States.

The ARA San Juan made their last contact when it was going from Ushuaia, in the extreme south of  Argentina , to Mar del Plata, about 400 kilometers south of Buenos Aires. That same morning, the captain of the submarine had reported a breakdown in the batteries of the vessel. Specialists consulted by the Argentine newspaper  La Nación  indicate that the sea area where the watercraft may have disappeared is about 700 meters deep. 

More than 4,000 people and 90% of the operational force between naval and naval means participate in the search operations for ARA San Juan, the Argentine Navy announced on what has been described as "an unprecedented operational effort in the last forty years." Rescues in search of the submarine with 44 creware aided by fourteen countries, among them Brazil.

Although the chances of finding the vessel are remote , the Navy has planned all the logistics for a possible rescue of the crew. One of the options is the Norwegian Skandi Patagonia, equipped with four unmanned U.S. submarinesand a capsule to be attached to San Juan .