Indonesia’s navy is searching for a missing submarine with 53 onboard that went missing north of the resort island during a military exercise. The submarine was carrying 49 crew members, its commander, and three gunners – has not been seen or heard from since Wednesday when it was conducting a torpedo drill in waters north of Bali.
The country’s military chief, Hadi Tjahjanto, said on Wednesday night, “The KRI Nanggala 402 was participating in a training exercise when it missed a scheduled reporting call. The vessel is believed to have disappeared in waters about 60 miles (95km) north of Bali.”
Tjahjanto also said the navy had deployed scores of ships to search the area, including a hydrographic survey ship, and had asked for help from Singapore and Australia, which have submarine rescue vessels.
French navy vice admiral Antoine Beaussant told a news agency that the submarine would have a safety descent level of 250 meters, and “if it went down to rest at 700 meters the likelihood is it would have broken up”.
Indonesia is deploying four warships to search for the submarine, including a Rigel warship equipped with sophisticated sonar that can precisely detect the vessel’s position. Indonesia has requested Australia and Singapore to associate them.
