Probe for 'truth' launched

President Mauricio Macri on Friday ordered an inquiry to "know the truth" about what happened to Argentina's missing submarine, the San Juan, which disappeared with the loss of its 44 crew.

The 34-year-old submarine had gone through a refit and was "in perfect condition," Macri told reporters at the Argentine navy headquarters.

"My commitment is with the truth," he said, adding the tragedy "will require a serious, in-depth investigation that will yield certainty about what has happened."

Argentina's navy has been fiercely criticized for its handling of the operation since first reporting the submarine overdue at its Mar del Plata base on November 16.

The navy took several days to say that the San Juan had reported a problem with its batteries in its final communication on November 15.

Only on Thursday did the navy confirm there had been an explosion on board, which experts said was likely linked to the battery problem.

"Until we have the complete information, we do not have to look for the guilty, to look for those responsible. First we have to have certainty of what happened and why it happened," said Macri.

The center-right leader spoke as the search for the San Juan shifted from rescue to recovery on Friday, after navy officials lost hope of finding alive any of the crew, which included the country's first female submarine officer.

Officially the navy has not declared the loss of the crew, but marine experts believe an explosion would have been catastrophic.

Brenda Salva, a friend of crew member Damian Tagliapietra, said she had been told by the commander of the Mar del Plata naval base: "They are all dead."

Argentine press reports on Friday said Macri's center-right government was preparing to sack navy chief Srur as part of a purge of top brass in a country where the military is distrusted.

Depths plummet from 200 meters (650 feet) to more than 3,000 meters on the edge of the Argentine shelf, where the sound of the explosion was picked up by hydro-acoustic sensors used by the Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Organization.

Experts say the sub would begin to break-up once below depths of around 600 meters.