Balloonist Per Lindstrand has offered his support in raising a missing Argentinian submarine.

The ARA San Juan disappeared last week with a crew of 44.

But despite assistance being sent from more than a dozen countries, including the UK, hopes are fading for those on board.

Mr Lindstrand, who runs his Lindstrand Technologies Ltd company from Oswestry’s Mile Oak Industrial Estate, said he would get involved if it became a salvage mission having previously been approached to lift the Russian submarine the Kursk which was lost in 2000.

He told the Advertizer: “They haven’t found the submarine yet but the problem is that where they think it is there is a continental shelf so it could be anywhere between 200 and 3,000 metres below the surface. If it is 3,000 metres down there is nothing anyone can do about it, but if it is 200 metres then we can get it.

“Everybody wants to get the submarine up to find out what has gone wrong so  it doesn’t happen again.”

Mr Lindstrand explained that to raise the submarine balloons would have to be specially created and attached to the side of the vessel and filled with air that would then lift it to the surface to be towed back to shore.

He added: “If we were asked to do it we would make the balloons in Oswestry to the size of the submarine which would take four months and then a team from Oswestry would go out with the balloons.”

The Argentinian navy has said an event consistent with an explosion was detected close to the last-known location of the submarine.