Hopes that the 44 crew of a missing Argentine submarine might still be alive have been dashed after the navy said an event consistent with an explosion had been detected.

The “abnormal, singular, short, violent, non-nuclear event” was recorded in the south Atlantic by a nuclear test watchdog last week.

Relatives of the missing crew reacted with grief and anger at the news.
It follows a US report of a loud noise in the same area.

The ARA San Juan disappeared last Wednesday. More than a dozen countries including the US, Russia and the UK have sent assistance.