‘Explosion’ heard near path of missing Argentinian submarine

An apparent explosion occurred near the time and place an Argentine submarine went missing, says the country's navy.

This ominous development prompted relatives of the 44 crew members to burst into tears, and some to say they had lost all hope of rescue.

Navy spokesman Enrique Balbi said the search will continue until there is full certainty about the fate of the ARA San Juan.

He said evidence showed "an anomalous event that was singular, short, violent and non-nuclear that was consistent with an explosion."

The US Navy and an international nuclear test-ban monitoring organisation said the "hydro-acoustic anomaly" was produced just hours after the navy lost contact with the submarine on 15 November.

“According to this report, there was an explosion," Balbi told reporters.

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"We don't know what caused an explosion of these characteristics at this site on this date."

The vessel was originally scheduled to arrive Monday at the Mar del Plata Navy Base, about 250 miles (400km) southeast of Buenos Aires.

Earlier today reports from the US stated that a Navy plane had spotted an "object" near the last known location of the submarine. No further information on that news has been released.

Relatives of the crew who have gathered at the base to receive psychological counselling broke into tears and hugged each other after they received the news.

Some fell on their knees or clung to a fence crowded with blue-and-white Argentine flags, rosary beads and messages of support.

The German-built diesel-electric TR-1700 class submarine was commissioned in 1985 and was most recently refit in 2014.