The Indonesian Navy said today, Thursday, that the Indonesian submarine that disappeared off the coast of Bali with 53 people on board, at a depth of seven hundred meters, may be underwater.
The German-made KRI Nanggala-402 lost about 95 kilometers from the coast. The submarine was carrying out a bombing operation in northern Bali island early Wednesday morning. The fate of the 53 crew members is not known.
Navy spokesman Julius Wedgujono The admiral said he suspected the submarine was at a depth of 600 to 700 meters. It is designed to dive to a depth of 250-500 meters, he added. Beyond that, however
He believed that the high water pressure had damaged the submarine fuel tank. He said that four warships were participating in the search, and two more, one of them Malaysian, were on their way to the alleged site.
The military said it had sought help from Singapore and Australia because these countries had lifeboats suitable for the mission. The Defense Ministry announced late Wednesday night that an aerial reconnaissance helicopter had discovered an oil slick at the site where the submarine was last seen. The Indonesian military said last year it had five submarines in its fleet, but two were no longer in service.
Nanggala-402 was manufactured in Kiel, Germany in the late 1970’s.
