Indonesia's navy finds debris of missing submarine with 53 on board, declares it sunk

Indonesia’s armed forces on April 24 said that search teams have recovered some ‘debris’ or items that they believe are from the missing military submarine that disappeared off the Bali coast. Navy Chief Yudo Margono said rescuers found several items from the KRI Nanggala 402, which disappeared after its last reported dive Wednesday off the resort island of Bali, including parts of a torpedo straightener, a grease bottle believed to be used to oil the periscope and prayer rugs. The announcement came as the KRI Nanggala 402 was estimated to run out of oxygen reserves by Saturday morning. 

“With the authentic evidence we found believed to be from the submarine, we have now moved from the ‘sub miss’ phase to ‘sub sunk,’” Margono said at a press conference in Bali where the found items were displayed.

The 43-year-old military submarine went missing on April 21 during the exercises off the coast of Bali triggering a frantic search to locate the vessel. The United States has also joined the efforts of the rescue teams of several other nations as the worry over crew not having oxygen resources heightened.

As per BBC report, an oil slick where the submarine is thought to have submerged suggested that the fuel tank might have been damaged which led to the vessel going missing. Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said on Friday that the US is “deeply saddened” by the recent turn of events. He said in a statement, “Our thoughts are with the Indonesian sailors and their families. At the invitation of the Indonesian government, we are sending airborne assets to assist in the search for the missing submarine."

Indonesia military’s development in locating submarine

On late April 22, the Indonesian military reportedly said that it had detected some signs of an object at a depth of between 50 and 100 metres (165 to 330 feet). It further deployed its ships with the ability of sonar-tracking to locate the KRI Nanggala 402. Indonesia military spokesperson Achmad Riad has reportedly said, “We've only got until 0300 tomorrow [Saturday] so we're maximising all of our efforts today...Hopefully, there will be a bright spot."

As per reports, at least six warships have been already deployed in search of the missing Indonesia submarine with over 400 people involved in the mission. Singapore and Malaysia have also dispatched their ships to the area and Australia, France and Germany have also offered assistance. Ratih Wardhani, whose brother Major Wisnu Subiyantoro among the KRI Nanggala 402 crew told BBC said, "We keep waiting, we keep praying...We hope that God will ease the effort of the joint rescue team from the Indonesian Navy and other countries.”

Image credits: AP