The Israel Defense Ministry formally announced tonight that the Dakar, the submarine missing in the Mediterranean Sea since January 25 with a crew of 69. was considered lost and that the 11-day search for it had been ended. The loss was the worst disaster in Israel’s short naval history. The announcement indicated that Israeli vessels in the vicinity would maintain a lookout.
The Dakar was proceeding from Portsmouth, England, after recommissioning and was en route to its base at Haifa. The submarine reported by radio on schedule on January 25 and was not heard from again. A massive four-nation air and sea search was launched immediately but no substantiated traces of the submersible were found in the area off Cyprus, where the last radio report was heard from.
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