Hope fades after 9 days of searching for Argentine submarine
Submarine
The submarine had been sailing from Ushuaia to Mar del Plata when it was declared missing last Wednesday with 44 crew members on board
Families of the 44 crew members of a missing Argentine submarine gave up hope and went home on Friday after days of waiting at the Mar del Plata naval base in sorrow.
Families of the crew members were sad and angered by evidence that the vessel may have exploded.
An explosion had apparently occurred near the last known position of an Argentine submarine, the Navy confirmed on Thursday, dashing last hopes of finding the vessel and its 44 crew members.
The submarine had been sailing from Ushuaia to Mar del Plata when it was declared missing last Wednesday with 44 crew members on board, reports said.
On Friday evening, navy spokesman Enrique Balbi had said that improving weather would allow for boats with underwater detection capabilities to conduct a search.
President Mauricio Macri said the search would continue and that he expected the submarine to be located in the days ahead. He called for a "serious and deep" investigation into the incident once the search operation was complete.