Argentine Navy submarine found a year after disappearing with 44 aboard

BUENOS AIRES: The Argentine Navy said on Saturday a private company hired by the government has located the submarine ARA San Juan some 800 meters (2625 feet) below the ocean`s surface a year after it went missing with 44 crew members aboard. 

The San Juan had a seven-day supply of air when it last reported its position on Nov. 15, 2017. The crew had been ordered to return to a naval base at Mar del Plata on the country's east coast, after reporting water had entered the vessel through its snorkel. 

Ocean Infinity, a maritime company that can search and map the seabed, was hired by Argentina following the failure of a massive international operation to find the vessel after it went missing in the South Atlantic. 

The San Juan was some 430 km (270 miles) off Argentina`s Patagonian coast when it sent its last signal. 

The disaster spurred soul-searching over the state of the military in Argentina, which - after a series of financial crises - has one of Latin America`s smallest defense budgets relative to the size of its economy.