Navy brass, low budget blamed for Argentina sub tragedy [View all]

[Judi Lynn]

BY DÉBORA REY ASSOCIATED PRESS
JULY 18, 2019 06:00 PM, UPDATED 5 HOURS 47 MINUTES AGO
BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA

An Argentine legislative commission has concluded that the sinking of a submarine with all 44 crewmembers was caused by the inefficiency of naval commanders and budget limitations, discarding theories the vessel was attacked or hit by a ship.

In a report released Thursday, the legislators also questioned the handling of the crisis by Defense Minister Oscar Aguad and President Mauricio Macri, who the commission said showed a "low level of involvement with everything related to the tragedy."

The ARA San Juan disappeared on Nov. 15, 2017, in the South Atlantic as it sailed back to its base at the port of Mar del Plata after participating in a training exercise. The wreckage wasn't found until almost a year later at a depth of 800 meters (2,625 feet) east of Patagonia's Valdes Peninsula. The discovery was made by a ship from the U.S. company Ocean Infinity, which had been hired to search.

"The hypotheses that the submarine was attacked by a foreign warship, hit by a fishing vessel or was performing secret tasks outside of jurisdictional waters have been discarded," said the commission, which was made up of lawmakers from different parties, including the governing party.

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