Crack Royal Navy squad sent in to save missing Argentina submarine crew from beneath the waves
TOP brass have dispatched a crack Royal Navy team to search for an Argentine submarine after it vanished near the Falklands.
Ice patrol ship HMS Protector is now scouring the South Atlantic alongside HMS Clyde in the international hunt for the missing vessel.
Argentina's navy picked up seven distress signals on Saturday, raising hopes the crew were still alive, but it was later revealed the signals did not come from the ARA San Juan.
Among those missing is Argentine Eliana Krawczyk - who became the first female South American submariner.
The Royal Navy is now flying in its elite Submarine Parachute Assistance Group (SPAG) to help locate the sub and the 44 people on board.
The team of medics, engineers and escape specialists will join the US in the search as offers of help also rolled in from Chile, Uruguay, Peru and Brazil.
Britain and Argentina fought a war in 1982 over the Falklands Islands, with the islands being returned to the Brits after the Argies surrendered.
A spokesman for the British Navy said: "Following a request from the Argentine government, HMS Protector has been deployed to join the search and rescue effort for the ARA San Juan."
The San Juan went 'missing' on Wednesday prompting Buenos Aires to launch an air and sea search.
But rescue attempts have been halted by choppy seas, with a storm bring powerful winds and 20ft waves.
It was in the southern Argentine Sea, 432 km (268 miles) from the Patagonian coast when it gave its last known location three days ago.
Distress calls - lasting between four and 36 seconds - were sent on Saturday morning and afternoon and are believed to be from the missing sub.
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