The search for a missing Argentinian submarine reaching a “critical phase” Wednesday, but two of the country’s politicians cited a 35-year-old war in rejecting British assistance, according to reports.
A multinational effort is underway to locate the ARA San Juan, which went missing Nov. 15 as it journeyed from the extreme southern port of Ushuaia to the coastal city of Mar del Plata.
The sub carries enough food, oxygen and fuel for the 44 crew members to survive about 90 days on the sea’s surface. But it only has enough oxygen to last seven days if submerged.
“We are in the critical phase…particularly with respect to oxygen,” Argentine navy spokesman Enrique Balbi told reporters. “There has been no contact with anything that could be the San Juan submarine.”
About 30 ships and planes and 4,000 people from Argentina, the United States, Britain, Chile and Brazil have joined the search for the submarine, which last transmitted its location about 300 miles from the coast.
But Argentine pols Gabriel Solano and Fernando Esteche apparently still harbor a grudge against Britain because of the 1982 Falklands War between the two countries.
“F— you! Pirates,” Solano, leader of Argentina’s Workers’ Party, said in a tweet aimed at the Brits, The Sun of the UK reported.
“You are responsible for war crimes, like the sinking of the General Belgrano,” he said, referring to the Argentine warship sunk by the HMS Conqueror at the orders of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
As a result of the torpedo attack by the nuclear-powered British sub, 321 Argentine sailors and two civilians aboard lost their lives.
Solano also tweeted the British government directly about the Royal Navy, saying: “They are occupation troops in an Argentine territory.”
The missive was in response to a tweet by the British Embassy that read: “Following a request from the Argentine Government, @RoyalNavy’s HMS Protector has been deployed to join the search and rescue effort for the #ARASanJuan.”
Many ordinary Argentinians slammed Solano for spewing his decades-old bile.
“Stop making us embarrassed. Focus on the important thing: Save the 44 men and women before they suffocate 200 meters deep,” one person tweeted, according to The Sun.
“Stop making a fool of yourself Gaby,” another said.
A third branded him an “a—hole.”
Solano was joined by Esteche, head of the Quebracho party, who also described British forces as occupiers.
“Yesterday they sank the Belgrano outside the exclusion zone and today they want thanks for their collaboration in the search for the ARA San Juan,” he posted online, according to the International Business Times.
“That they help but that they do not expect anything in return because they still occupy our islands. These are the laws of the sea!” he railed.
He, too, was blasted by his countrymen.
“I apologize, I am embarrassed by @estechefernando, we are very grateful for your collaboration in the recovery of our sailors. At your service!!!” one person wrote.
“My husband, a Falklands War veteran and I, appreciate your solidarity,” another said in a message to Britain.
The HMS Protector, an ice patrol ship, is equipped with sonar equipment that can search beneath the waves. The UK also has placed a C-130 Hercules aircraft – which is based in the Falkland Islands — on standby.
With Post Wires
