BUENOS AIRES: Argen­tina fired the head of its navy a month after a submarine disappeared in the South Atlantic with 44 crew members onboard, a government spokesman said on Saturday.

Letting go of Navy Adm­iral Marcelo Eduardo Hiplito Srur was the first known disciplinary action taken by President Mauricio Macri’s administration since contact was lost with the ARA San Juan on Nov 15. “It was decided to remove him,” a government spokesman said.

Families of the crew members criticised Macri’s government for not clearly communicating with them and for abandoning rescue efforts.

The navy said on Nov 27 that water that entered the submarine’s snorkel caused its battery to short-circuit before it went missing. The navy had previously said international organisations detected a noise that could have been the submarine’s implosion the same day contact was lost.

Published in Dawn, December 17th, 2017