Image: The 43-year-old vessel was conducting a torpedo drill on Wednesday but failed to relay the results as expected. Pic: Indonesian Navy
Indonesia's navy is searching for a submarine with 53 people on board which has gone missing during a training exercise in waters north of the island of Bali. The 43-year-old vessel was conducting a torpedo drill on Wednesday but failed to relay the results as expected, a navy spokesman said. A search is underway for the German-made submarine, KRI Nanggala-402, and its crew.
Image: The submarine was last heard from at a location around 26.5 nautical miles northwest of Singaraja, on the northern coast of Bali
Indonesia has asked authorities in Australia and Singapore for help with the hunt, the country's military chief Hadi Tjahjanto told Reuters."We are still searching in the waters of Bali, 60 miles (96km) from Bali, (for) 53 people," he told the news agency in a text message. He added that contact with the submarine was lost at around 4.30 am local time and that the navy has deployed warships to search the area.
Image: A navy warship helping with the search has circled the area, with its current position (in blue) recorded at 9.04 pm local time. Pic: MarineTraffic.com
Indonesia's defence ministry said an aerial search for the vessel found an oil spill near an earlier dive position. A statement also said the military had deployed two vessels with sonar capability to help find the missing submarine. The 1,395-tonne vessel was built in 1978, according to the Indonesian cabinet secretariat's website. It underwent a two-year refit in South Korea which was completed in 2012. Indonesia's once 12-strong submarine fleet has been reduced to five over the years and includes two German-built Type 209 models and three newer South Korean vessels.
