(ARGENTINE, LANKAPUVATH) –With every hour, their chances of seeing their loved ones alive slipped away.
On Thursday, the announcement that an explosion was recorded near where the ARA San Juan submarine vanished meant that the anguished wait for families of the crew was all but over.
For some, sorrow turned to anger.
The Argentine navy’s report to the relatives could not be concluded because many relatives became frustrated with the spokesman when he mentioned the reported explosion.
There were struggles and some family members voiced their anger at him.
Even before the confirmation of the explosion, the frustration of family members was boiling over.
Elena Alfaro, whose brother Cristian Ibañez is among the crew, said: “I feel like I’m waiting for a corpse. I feel like I’m at a wake. I also feel time passing and time is crucial. I don’t want to bury my brother.”
More than 200 relatives, many of whom have come from other parts of Argentina, have been sleeping at the base. It is here that the worst maritime crisis to befall Argentina in decades takes on a human face.
“The mood is bad, very bad,” the navy’s Victor Hugo Duga told local media on Tuesday.
“At the moment there is only anxiety here. It’s the worst thing I’ve had to face.”
