As days, then weeks passed with no contact from the ARA San Juan submarine, Argentines began to accept the fact that what had once been an aging staple of the nation’s naval fleet had been suddenly and tragically transformed into a 60-foot-long metal tomb.
But as the nation mourned the anniversary of the San Juan’s disappearance on Thursday, painful questions lingered: What horrible tragedy had befallen the submarine? And, most importantly, would the craft and the bodies of the 44 sailors aboard ever be recovered?
In a bittersweet announcement on Saturday, authorities said they may soon have answers to those twin mysteries. The San Juan has been found nearly 3,000 feet beneath the ocean’s surface in waters off the Valdes Peninsula in Argentine Patagonia, according to The Associated Press.
Almost exactly a year ago, the diesel-electric ARA San Juan was returning to its base south of Buenos Aires after a routine mission to Ushuaia, near the southern tip of South America, the Argentine Navy said.
Then, suddenly, it went silent.
If trouble arose, the crew of the submarine was supposed to surface and essentially phone home, but that never happened.
Authorities disclosed that just before the sub went missing, the captain reported that water had entered the engines’ snorkel and short-circuited one of the sub’s batteries, although he said the issue had been contained, according to the AP.
A short time later, an explosion was detected near the last known location of the submarine. The navy has said “a concentration of hydrogen” caused by the battery problem could be responsible for the blast.
But investigators found responsibility also lay up and down the military ladder.
As military officials faced repercussions on land, the location of the sub remained a mystery, and the search continued.
In September, the Argentine government contracted the U.S. company Ocean Infinity, known for finding wrecks lost at sea. This week, the company sent out mini-submarines to the seabed and one ultimately returned with definitive photo evidence of the wreckage — on the last day of the company’s mission.