BUENOS AIRES, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Luisa Rodriguez, mother of submariner Ricardo Gabriel Alfaro Rodriguez, one of the 44 crewmen of the missing Argentinean submarine ARA San Juan, says she is still hopeful of her son returning alive.
Alfaro Rodriguez, serving on the submarine that has been missing since Nov. 15 as a non-commissioned officer (NCO), turned 37 on Oct. 2.
"There is hope (to find him alive), as we don't know anything, nobody has said ... how they are. There is only hope," emphasized Rodriguez.
Speaking to Xinhua on Monday, she noted that "there have been sinkings of submarines in which people remained on the bottom until rescue arrived."
On Nov. 23, the navy reported that an "event" consistent with an explosion had been detected on the same day when the submarine lost its final contact in the area where the submarine was known to be travelling.
This explosion and the sub's disappearance was believed in the Gulf of San Jorge, 240 nautical miles (432 km), southeast of the Valdes peninsula, in the South Atlantic.
The news caused widespread alarm in the country, with the public showing unending loyalty and support to the missing sailors and their families.
"There are shows of support at every moment, every day, from the people, from the Navy itself. We feel very supported," reinstated Rodriguez.
The ARA San Juan is a TR-1700 submarine, which was made in Germany and commissioned into the Argentinean Navy in 1985.
It completed its "half-life repair" between December 2008 and June 2014 at the Argentine Industrial and Naval Complex (Cinar).
