Failed satellite calls that probably came from an Argentine navy submarine missing in the South Atlantic raised hopes that its 44 crew members are alive, but stormy conditions on Sunday complicated the search.
Boats searching for the German-built ARA San Juan on the ocean surface struggled against waves of up to 6 meters (20 feet), navy spokesman Enrique Balbi said. The submarine was 432 km (268 miles) off Argentina's southern Atlantic coast when it sent its last communication early on Wednesday.
"Luckily we have been able to continue with the air search," Balbi told reporters on Sunday. "Unfortunately, we have not yet had contact with the San Juan submarine, and we will keep working."
More than a dozen boats and aircraft from Argentina, the United States, Britain, Chile and Brazil had joined the effort.
The submarine probably tried to make seven satellite calls on Saturday between late morning and early afternoon, the Argentine defense ministry said.
"Yesterday's news was something of a respite for us, to know that there is life," Claudio Rodriguez, the brother of a crew member, said on television channel A24 on Sunday morning.
Stormy weather probably interfered with the calls,...
