53 sailors in sunken Indonesian submarine presumed dead

Indonesian officials say debris from a missing submarine was found after the vessel sank as hopes of rescuing 53 sailors on board faded.

The search team on Sunday focused on pinpointing the sub’s exact location. Authorities warned any salvage operation would be risky and difficult in the deep waters.

Singapore’s MV Swift Rescue – a submarine rescue vessel – arrived to aid in the recovery effort, the navy said.

Neighbouring Malaysia as well as the United States, India and Australia were among the nations helping in the search.

Items located from the stricken submarine included a bottle of lubricant and a device that protects a torpedo, Air Marshall Hadi Tjahjanto said.

“The objects found near the last location of the submarine are believed to be parts of the submarine,” he said. “These objects would have never got out of the submarine unless there was pressure.”

The submarine – one of five in Indonesia’s fleet – disappeared on Wednesday during live torpedo training exercises off the Indonesian holiday island of Bali.

Navy chief Yudo Margono said on Saturday that rescuers found several items, including parts of a torpedo straightener, a grease bottle believed to be used to oil the periscope, and prayer rugs from the submarine.

“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.

Indonesia earlier considered the submarine that disappeared off Bali as just missing. But now officials declared the submarine sank.

Authorities said it was unlikely that there was an explosion on board the submarine, officials also said the oxygen supply for its 53 crew ran out early on Saturday.

Margono said a scan had detected the submarine at 850 metres (2,788 feet), well beyond its survivable limits. The submarine is designed to withstand a depth of up to 500 metres (1,640 feet).

“If it’s an explosion it will be in pieces. The cracks happened gradually in some parts when it went down from 300 metres to 400 metres to 500 metres … If there was an explosion, it would be heard by the sonar,” said Margono, adding no bodies were found so far.

The military said it was preparing “to evacuate” the vessel.

There have been no signs of life from the submarine, but family members have held out hope.

Berda Asmara, the wife of Second Sergeant Guntur Ari Prasetya, said she is still optimistic that her husband survived.

“Nothing is certain yet … The important thing is that we don’t stop praying and hopefully everyone will come home safely and in good health,” she said.

The vessel was scheduled to conduct training exercises when it asked for permission to dive. It lost contact shortly after.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo said on Sunday he sent his condolences to the families of the 53 crew.

The search focused on an area near the starting position of its last dive where an oil slick was found.

The cause of the disappearance is still uncertain. The navy has said an electrical failure could have left the submarine unable to execute emergency procedures to resurface.

The German-built diesel-powered KRI Nanggala-402 has been in service in Indonesia since 1981 and was carrying 49 crew members and three gunners as well as its commander, the Indonesian defence ministry said.

Al jazeera