Missing Argentine submarine may have attempted contact 7 times

Kim Hjelmgaard | USA TODAY

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Seven brief satellite signals have been detected that may have come from an Argentine submarine that went missing three days ago with 44 crew members aboard.

Argentina's Navy said in a post on Twitter that the failed calls, which lasted between four and 36 seconds, "indicate that the crew is trying to re-establish contact, so we are working to locate the source of the emissions."

The ARA San Juan lost contact with Navy command on Wednesday. The country's defense ministry said Sunday it has not confirmed the source of the signals.

"We are working hard to locate them. To the families of the 44 crew members: we hope you'll have them home soon," Argentina's Defense Minister Oscar Aguad tweeted.

The U.S. Navy and Air Force have joined a growing international effort to find the submarine, which was sailing from Tierra del Fuego on the southern tip of South America to its base at Mar del Plata, south of Buenos Aires.

Concerns about the fate of the submarine and its crew are growing.

"We are not discounting any hypothesis," Navy spokesman Enrique Balbi said.

READ MORE: U.S. deploys more resources in search for missing Argentine submarine

Argentine President Mauricio Macri said in a tweet that the country will use “all resources national and international that are necessary to find the submarine.”

Argentine Pope Francis said he was offering "fervent prayers" for the crew.

Pledges of help came from Chile, Uruguay, Peru and Brazil, as well as Britain, which was sending a polar exploration vessel, the HMS Protector.

Relatives of the crew members gathered at the Mar del Plata Naval Base in the hopes of hearing news about their loved ones.

“We feel anguish. We are reserved but will not lose our hope that they will return,” Marcela Moyano, wife of machinist Hernan Rodriguez, told television network TN.

She said she spoke with her husband when the submarine departed and is still sending him WhatsApp messages, though he has not responded.

Contributing: Associated Press