The Ministry of Defence has said the woman’s story is ‘completely untrue’, understandable given the fact Britain doesn’t operate any anti-submarine helicopters in the South Atlantic, that is, no helicopters actually capable of tracking a submarine.
Jesica Medina, the sister of submariner Roberto Daniel Medina, said the WhatsApp message she had received from her brother said that they had been close to the Falkland Islands.
“It was a strange message in which he told us a British helicopter and a Chilean ship had been chasing them” said Medina. She told local media that other family members received similar messages. She claimed to not have told authorities about the message earlier because she “didn’t feel she was able to.”
An MoD spokeswoman told us on the phone: ‘This story is completely untrue’.
Not only would this appear to suggest access to WhatsApp while at sea, it reveals the discussion of operational details to family members.
The Argentine government recently suspended two officers — Rear Admiral Luis Enrique Lopez Mazzeo, and Navy Training and Enlistment Commander, captain Claudio Villamide — for alleged irregularities in the submarine search operation.
Recently, Sputnik claimed that the sinking of Argentine submarine ARA San Juan was caused by a British deep-sea mine deployed during the Falklands War. The problem? Britain didn’t lay any mines. Sputnik News is a successor to Russian state-owned RIA Novosti’s international branch which became defunct in 2013. The agency is wholly owned and operated by the Russian Government.
The article suggests that the explosive event registered in the area of operations of the Argentine submarine ARA San Juan was caused by a deep-sea mine “installed at the time of the Falklands War in 1982.”
Quoting Russian naval captain Vasili Dandikin on the fate of the ARA San Juan:
“In 1982, the British submarines could have placed maritime mines near the Argentine coasts, the mine could remain in the bottom for 35 years, and once a storm disconnected it from the rope, it could have hit the San Juan.”
The thing is, the UK didn’t use any naval mines during the Falklands War either.
LOL.
Three possibilities.
One. They were snooping around in Falklands waters. We’d actually have every right to follow them. Does not mean that we then sank them! Especially as that was way further north beyond range.
Two. They have seen a Bristow contracted SAR helicopter or even a Chinook and been clueless
between a helicopter flying past and actually being hunted.
Three. It’s bullshit.
I would tend toward your number three option Daniele. Possibly another attempt to deflect attention away from the Argentine Navy. Your options one and two are entirely feasible, bearing in mind the UK has zero interest in the own goal of ‘hunting’ an Argentine sub.
Thank goodness the Kirchner government is out of power: A whole load of conspiracy theories blaming the UK would be promoted.
I go with three.
I think you’ve got to take option 3, Bullshit.
Be interesting to see the explanation as to how ordinary sailors are able to WhatsApp from a submerged sub hundreds of miles off the coast.
Didn’t have mobile phones when I was in, we just had the sat phone but even then there had to be a bloody good reason for using it.
It’s just a way to pass the blame for putting a badly-maintained submarine to sea onto the UK. I feel sorry for the crew and families but if they believe this then they will believe anything.
They could sue the UK govt given past form regardless weather the UK was involved or not, they would still pay out.
To use What’s App, you need access to a data network i.e. either the internet or a mobile phone network. Let’s be logical about this. 1. To use the mobile phone network means you must be in line of sight of 3G/4G relay masts and therefore within line of sight, as the frequencies these use are upper UHF. There are now mobile networks in the Falklands. So either they must have been close to the Argentine or Falklands coastline. If they were close to the Falkands then there would have been three “known” options, as I’m pretty sure our subs… Read more »
I can remember a quote from Tom Paine that I think is appropriate here. Pardon me if I don’t get it word for word. ‘When you have to decide between something that’s impossible happening or a man lied always go with a man lied’
Shame on anyone making up stories about those who have died.
Agreed, tragic that people make up such stories, I don’t blame the families for believing it, the poor souls are deep in grief and anger and desperate for someone to blame…
I am sure upper echelons of the Argentine Navy are only to happy the anger is getting miss directed elsewhere!
This false news generated by the Russians is getting really tired, they are just making themselves look more and more like the third world tin pot dictatorship they seem determined to turn into…. Very sad.
I really hope this isn’t true. There is a chance that a British helicopter could be in a area, and there is also a chance that using sat internet the message could have been sent (operational details shouldn’t be sent, but welcome to the real world). However even if true, it seems insanely unlikely that the helicopter would have used offensive weapons, even if the sub was in British waters (ask the spanish) and so either way it’s a non story. Horific news for the families, even without this type of thing interfering with there grief. No one deserves this… Read more »
It is all really rather sad.
I really wish we had the assets to chase submarines in the South Atlantic :-/
Problems indicated from maintenance records indicate there was a problem with the boats main battery, explosion probably from gasses emitting from a faulty battery…Until the sub is actually found, everything else is pure speculation, as a former British submariner I have sympathy for the family of the boats crew..as all submariners will..
The true fact of the matter is: 1, Britain and Argentina are still at war over the Falklands ,in words more than action 2,Conspirators,make up stories based on stories not on facts 3,A submariner is operating on board a vessel which is covert and all communication Unless authoritised by the commander Of the vessel is not allowed,if a British Submariner did what this lady claims then The person would be removed from duty Arrested and put in the brig,until they got back to base and court marshaled, Dismissed from Naval service and the service record would show that the person… Read more »
Has mentido punto por punto y ya esta demostrado por documentacion oficial. una verguenza, como buen britanico colonialista.
Sounds like more shit stirring from Vladimir and his Russian Mafia friends
Everybody here is assuming the impossibility of a fact without actually checking the fact. Here is the actual messege: “El lunes nos buscaba un helicóptero inglés y ayer los chilenos. Hay mucho movimiento allá” Which can be translated as this: “Last monday a british (lit. English) helicopter was following us and yesterday the chileans. There was a lot of movement out there” He doesn’t say “chasing”, just followig, and, most important: he never talks about an alleged “antisubmarine helicopter” he just says “helicopter” The guy, suboficial segundo Daniel Medina, is talking to his family, telling them about past events (“last… Read more »