An Argentine Falklands war vet who was onboard the General Belgrano when it was sunk by the British Navy has died of COVID-19 on the same day as his dad who had just been vaccinated against the virus.

Carlos Dominguez, 60, and his dad Silvano Dominguez, 83, reportedly died within hours of each other from COVID-19 in their home in the city of El Jague in the Argentine province of Buenos Aires on 9th May.

The pair, who lived together, were both considered ‘high-risk’ patients and died before the emergency services arrived to provide assistance.

Antonio, Carlos’ brother, told the news outlet El Mira that: “I’m pretty sure that if the ambulance had arrived sooner, my brother could have been saved.”

He added: “My brother’s condition worsened very quickly, one day he was fine and the next day his symptoms worsened and on Sunday he was dead.”

Antonio and his brother Carlos were both veterans of the Falklands War and were on board the General Belgrano when it was sunk by a British submarine on 2nd May 1982.

Carlos and his brother spent 35 hours floating in the sea before they were rescued.

Antonio said: “We didn’t see each other for five days after the ship sunk. Neither of us knew what had happened to the other.”

The 323 deaths caused by the sinking amounted to over half of all deaths suffered by the Argentine military during the 10-week war in 1982.

Local news outlet Cien Radios said that Silvano, father of the two war veterans, had received his first COVID-19 jab just days before he died.

However, they did not clarify which vaccine he received or if he had it before or after contracting the virus.

Antonio concluded by saying that he is very proud of both his brother and his dad and takes solace in knowing that they are now keeping an eye out for him and his family from above.

According to John Hopkins University, Argentina has recorded 3,191,097 cases of COVID-19 and 68,311 related deaths as of 12th May.