Indonesia confirms deaths of all 53 crew on missing submarine

Jakarta, Apr 25. (EFE).- All 53 crew members aboard a navy submarine that sank in Indonesia earlier week have died, Indonesia’s military chief Air Marshall said Sunday.

At a press conference, Tjahjanto said search teams had found debris of the ill-fated submarine below a depth of 800 meters in the northern waters of Bali.

“With great regret, we confirm the 53 crew members have died on duty,” Tjahjanto said during a press conference, sending his condolences to the victims’ families.

Navy chief Yudo Margono said a Singaporean submarine helping in the search had located KRI Nanggala 402 split into three parts, adding the accident was not due to human error.

The Indonesian authorities, who on Saturday were still clinging to vanishing hopes of rescuing some of its crew members, suspect the submarine cracked gradually when it went down below 400 and 500 meters.

In recent days, rescuers, including teams from Singapore, Australia, India, and the United States, have been involved in the operation to find the vessel that went missing on Wednesday during a military exercise.

Indonesia currently has a fleet of five submarines, two of German manufacture, including the missing one, which was acquired in 1981, and three manufactured in South Korea. EFE

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