Doomed Argentine sub reported a FIRE in chilling final message after water flooded in and caused a battery to blow up
Hopes for survivors were quashed by reports of a blaze after seawater had entered the vessel's ventilation system
THE crew of a missing Argentine submarine reported a fire in their final message before it went missing 13 days ago.
The final contact with the ARA San Juan, which has 44 crew members on board, was on November 15 -the day the vessel vanished.
According to news channel A24, the submarine said seawater had entered the ventilation system, causing a battery on the diesel-electric vessel to short-circuit and start a fire.
It comes as hopes for survivors were quashed amid reports there could have been implosion of the vessel after an explosion was detected nearby the sub.
Navy spokesman Enrique Balbi said yesterday that water had entered through the snorkel, which is a device that allows a submarine to operate submerged, while still taking in air from the surface.
The water went through the ventilation system to a battery connection tray in the prow and "caused a short circuit and the beginning of a fire, or smoke without flame", Balbi said.
He added that the captain later communicated by satellite phone that the problem had been contained.
"They had to electrically isolate the battery and continue sailing underwater to Mar del Plata using another battery circuit," Balbi said.
Experts say the 44 sailors aboard had only enough oxygen to last up to ten days if the sub remained intact but submerged.
The navy said last week that before the submarine went missing, the captain reported an electrical problem and the vessel was ordered to return to its base in the coastal city of Mar del Plata, about 250 miles southeast of Buenos Aires.
The San Juan, a German-built diesel-electric TR-1700 class submarine, was commissioned in 1985 and was most recently refitted in 2014.
Some family members have denounced the navy's response to the disappearance and the age and condition of the vessel.
The navy says 15 countries are still helping search for the sub in area where the explosion was recorded about 270 miles off the coast of Argentina.
"Unfortunately, we still have not located or detected the San Juan submarine," Navy spokesman Enrique Balbi said on Monday in Buenos Aires.
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Argentian President Mauricio Macri: President Mauricio Macri said: "The disappearance and current search for the ARA San Juan submarine has touched all Argentines.
"It's a difficult moment for all but, obviously, especially for the families of the 44 crew members.
"I'm here to guarantee you that we will carry on with the search, especially now that we have the support of all the international community."