Indonesia sends warships to search missing submarine with 53 crew members
- Apr 23, 2021,
- Updated Apr 23, 2021, 12:48 AM IST
JAKARTA: Indonesia sent warships to the search for a navy submarine that went missing with 53 crew members off the coast of Bali on Thursday, while other nations sent ships to assist in the search.
An oil spill near where the submarine was thought to have submerged early on Wednesday raised of a deadly catastrophe due to potential fuel tank damage.
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The crew of the KRI Nanggala 402 had enough oxygen until early Saturday morning, but time was running out as rescuers scoured the coast off the island of Bali, where it had vanished.
According to sources, in the event of a blackout, the submarine's oxygen reserve capability is 72 hours.
However, defence experts also cautioned that if the vessel had sunk to depths of up to 700 metres (2,300 feet), it might have shattered into pieces.
Initial reports have raised the risk of "a horrible disaster," according to Australian defence minister Peter Dutton.
According to sources, when it asked for permission to dive the German-built submarine was scheduled to perform live torpedo drills.
Search teams were focusing on an area around the oil slick on Thursday, according to navy spokesman Julius Widjojono, but the exact location of the vessel was yet to be determined.
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The navy has sent six warships and a helicopter to search for the submarine.
Other countries also offered for help including the United States, Australia, France and Germany.
Singapore and Malaysia have already dispatched ships, including the MV Swift Rescue, a submarine rescue vessel, which is scheduled to arrive in the coming days.
The military has so far declined to comment on whether the submarine, which was carrying 53 crew members, was overloaded.
Indonesia has five submarines constructed by German and South Korean companies in its fleet, which has been upgrading its ageing military equipment in recent years.
In 1981, the 1,300-tonne KRI Nanggala 402 was delivered for service.
It's a Type 209 diesel-electric attack submarine that's operated in more than a dozen navies around the world over the past half-century, including Greece, India, Argentina and Turkey.
Though there has never been a big submarine disaster in Indonesia, incidents have occurred in other countries.