The navigation pattern of the oceanographic underwater search vessel, the Ángeles Alvariño, which joined the search on Sunday for evidence related to the disappearance of the two Tenerife girls, has shown that special attention is being paid to a specific area located 3.2 nautical miles (just under 6kms) from the Santa Cruz coast, not far from where the Auditorium is.
As confirmed to Europa Press last night, “something strange” has been detected that, to be identified with certainty, will require the services of its underwater robot, which is capable of descending to a depth of 2,000 metres at full capacity.
As can be seen in the image below, the ship returned yesterday to review this area, where the lines of its route are thicker as it visited this space more than the rest. When it passed through there, it reduced its speed from its usual four knots to just one and even half a knots, with the submarine at a depth of 1,100 metres.
Up until 10.10pm last night, the Ángeles Alvariño had covered a total area of approximately 36 square miles, with distances to the coast ranging from 1.4 kilometres to just over 12 kilometres, searching at depths between 360 metres and 2,000 metres (2kms).
The search by sea for Anna and Olivia, who disappeared over a month ago, will have the support of this oceanographic vessel until next week, and in total there will be between eight and nine days of uninterrupted searching, 24 hours a day along the coastline of the eastern slope of Tenerife.
It should be remembered that the area where Ángeles Alvariño has begun to work was agreed by the Guardia Civil and ship's personnel, being chosen, among other facts, by the geopositioning of the mobile phone of the girls' father, Tomás Gimeno, who went out to sea on two occasions on the night of April 27th, when the trail was lost. Also the cost of fuel made by the pleasure boat used that day, which has been calculated with remarkable precision after finding out that it had filled the tanks of his boat that same month, has helped to limit the area.
As for how the equipment on the search vessel works, sources from the Guardia Civil have explained that a multibeam probe survey is being carried out with which, at a reduced speed, several passes are made over the same point, thus gaining greater resolution. A multibeam probe allows precise mapping, which will facilitate the subsequent work of the underwater robot that Ángeles Alvariño also has. In this sonar prospecting work, parallel 'streets' will be established that will overlap to cover the entire surface to be explored. In addition, during this recognition, marks will be established on the irregularities of the bottom that may require a subsequent visual inspection.
That is where the aforementioned Liropus 2000 unmanned robot intervenes, with the capacity to operate and collect samples beyond 2,000 metres of depth, although if it is adapted it can work up to 3,000 metres. There are only 22 of these underwater robots operating in the world.
