Missing sub found: 53 die
A MISSING Indonesian submarine has been found cracked apart on the seafloor in waters off Bali, the military said yesterday, as it confirmed that all 53 crew were dead.
“There were parts of KRI Nanggala; it was broken into three pieces,” said Navy Chief of Staff Yudo Margono.
Indonesian military head Hadi Tjahjanto told reporters that “all 53 personnel on board have passed on”.
Indonesian Military Chief Hadi Tjahjanto confirmed that all the 53 crew members aboard the submarine were dead after some other components of the vessel were found.
“Based on the authentic evidence, it can be stated that all the crews of the KRI Nanggala submarine are dead.
“For that, I express deep condolences,” he said.
Authorities said that they received signals from the location more than 800 metres deep early yesterday morning.
They had used an underwater submarine rescue vehicle supplied by Singapore to get visual confirmation.
Tjahjanto said more parts from the vessel were discovered yesterday, including an anchor and safety suits worn by crew members.
On Saturday, the navy had first said fragments of the submarine, including items from inside the vessel, had been retrieved, but its location had yet to be confirmed.
The discovery comes after the submarine disappeared early on Wednesday during live torpedo training exercises off the holiday island.
Rescuers found new objects, including a life vest, and said that they believed they belonged to those aboard the 44-year old KRI Nanggala, which lost contact on Wednesday as it prepared to conduct a torpedo drill.
Navy chief of staff Yudo Margono said the crew were not to blame for the accident.
“The KRI Nanggala is divided into three parts, the hull of the ship, the stern of the ship, and the main part which are all separated.
“The main part was found cracked,” he said.
President Joko Widodo earlier confirmed the discovery in the Bali Sea and sent the families of the victims his condolences.
“All of us Indonesians express our deep sorrow over this tragedy, especially to the families of the submarine crew.”
Search teams said on Saturday they had found objects including prayer mat fragments and a bottle of periscope lubricant near the submarine’s last known location, leading the navy to believe the vessel had cracked.
Margono said on Saturday that a sonar scan had detected a submarine-like object at 850 metres beyond the Nanggala’s diving range.
More than a dozen helicopters and ships are searching the area where contact was lost, with the US, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and India providing assistance.
Residents of the East Java town of Banyuwangi, which hosts the naval base from where search-and-rescue operations are being conducted, joined nationwide calls to accelerate the modernisation of Indonesia’s defence forces.
“This can be a learning point for the government to advance its military technology and be careful in how it uses its (existing) technology because its people’s lives are at stake,” said 29-year old resident Hein Ferdy Sentoso.
Southeast Asia’s most-populous country has sought to revamp its military capability.
Yet some equipment is still old and there have been fatal accidents in recent years.
Indonesia had five submarines before the latest accident: two German-built Type 209s including Nanggala and three newer South Korean vessels.
A number of countries, including Russia, the US, Germany, France, India, Turkey and Australia, had offered assistance to Indonesia in an operation to find the submarine.