With consistently, their odds of seeing their friends and family alive disappear.
While naval forces from around the globe participate in the look for a missing Argentine submarine, a lot is on the line for the relatives of the 44 individuals on board.
Their anguish is swinging to dissatisfaction as the inquiry enters a basic stage, with levels of breathable air on the sub decreasing.
Elena Alfaro, whose sibling Cristian Ibañez is one of the group, stated: "I have a feeling that I'm sitting tight for a body.
"I have a feeling that I'm at a wake. I likewise feel time hanging loose is urgent.
It is three days since President Mauricio Macri and senior maritime officers met the families at the Mar del Plata maritime base.
After the gatherings, Mr Macri tweeted (in Spanish): "I offer all my help to the relatives of team of the submarine in these troublesome hours. We will keep on deploying all the accessible national and worldwide assets to discover (the group) as quickly as time permits."
More than 200 relatives, a significant number of whom have originated from different parts of Argentina, have been resting at the base. It is here that the most noticeably awful sea emergency to come to pass for Argentina in decades goes up against a human face.
"Right now there is just uneasiness here. It's the most exceedingly bad thing I've needed to confront."
He said the relatives had endured three "hard blows" in the hold up: The submarine not returning at the planned time; when satellite gets turned out not to have been from the sub; and past commotions heard in the zone, which were not from the submarine.
With the odds of finding the group alive being decreased by the day, the relatives have held supplication sessions at the base and been gone to by clinicians.
Yet, these little breaks in routine don't mask the way this is a cat-and-mouse diversion - and give up is close for some.
"It will pass."
Dissatisfaction and outrage are going to the fore. A few relatives say the naval force was too ease back to react when the submarine lost contact with arrive, and dawdled before bringing in universal offer assistance.
The kin of Cristian Ibañez were among those to express outrage. One inquired as to why the specialists were utilizing water crafts to search for a submarine, and another said the naval force "lost critical hours" by not treating the circumstance genuinely enough toward the start.
Ms Alfaro stated: "I would prefer not to hear what number of water crafts and planes there are. I need them to reveal to us where our relatives are."
Some of the individuals who are missing relatives are excessively youthful, making it impossible to recognize what is going on. Beatriz Gambazza, who drives a creche at the maritime base, said two of the youngsters there have fathers on load up.
In any case, some still hold out expectation. Lourdes Ledesma's better half has been to Haiti amid sea tempests and went to Antarctica, so she has encountered long stretches without got notification from him some time recently.
"You need to accept, have confidence and implore," she said. "The maritime family is exceptionally solid."
"They will return without a doubt," said Malvina Vallejos, the sister of an officer on board.
What's more, one father, Jorge, disclosed to BBC Mundo: "I am a positive thinker and I know they are acting as hard as could be allowed.
"A submarine is made to not be distinguished. It's conceivable they are exploring here gradually."
The look for the sub has grasped Argentina, and individuals have gone to the base to stick messages of help to the team and families on a wire fence - it is both a passionate overflowing and an accumulation of petitions.
Religious administrator Gabriel Mestre, who has been going to the maritime base, stated: "Petition doesn't just contain trust - it additionally incorporates quality to go up against the most emotional situation."
