Indonesian Navy releases poignant video of now-sunk submarine's crew singing farewell song

A poignant video has emerged showing the crew of a sunken Indonesian submarine singing happily onboard their vessel. This video was filmed a few weeks before the KRI Nanggala 402 went down with all hands lost. It shows some of the 53-strong crew members singing Sampai Jumpa, which is an Indonesian hit, whose title means 'goodbye'. This video has so far garnered over 1.3 million views and more than 1,325 comments.

Crew of sunken Indonesia submarine singing farewell song

Submarine commander Heri Oktavian was among those gathered around a seaman strumming an acoustic guitar. “Even though I’m not ready to be missing you, I’m not ready to live without you,” the sailors sing. “I wish all the best for you.” The video was recorded as a farewell for the outgoing commander of the navy’s submarine corps, whose successor took up his role in early March, Indonesian military spokesperson Djawara Whimbo told AFP.

Indonesia's Navy finds debris of missing submarine with 53 onboard

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."

(Image: Instagram- @ERIXOEKAMTI)