Debris from Indonesian submarine found, crew presumed dead

Debris has been recovered from the missing Indonesian submarine KRI Nanggala 402, dashing hopes that any of the 53 crew on board will be found alive.

Debris has been recovered from a missing Indonesian submarine, suggesting that the stricken vessel could have broken apart after sinking with 53 crew aboard.

The development dashed already slim hopes of rescuing the sailors alive after their oxygen reserves were understood to have run out earlier in the day.

Warships, planes and hundreds of military personnel have been searching for the KRI Nanggala 402 since it disappeared off the coast of Bali early Wednesday.

An Indonesian naval officer shows parts of the torpedo system found in the search operation for the KRI Nanggala 402. Picture: AFP

Authorities earlier said the German-built craft was equipped with enough oxygen for only three days after losing power.

That deadline passed Saturday morning.

On Saturday afternoon, navy chief Yudo Margono said a search party had recovered fragments from the submarine, including items from inside the vessel, which pointed to a catastrophic accident.

“We have raised the status from submiss to subsunk,” he told reporters, adding that the retrieved items could not have come from another vessel.

“(The items) would not have come outside the submarine if there was no external pressure or without damage to its torpedo launcher.”

But he discounted an explosion, saying it was more likely the submarine came apart as it was crushed by water pressure at depths topping 800m, well below what it was built to withstand.

More debris from the missing submarine. Picture: AFP

Sonar did not pick up signals to indicate a blast, he added.

“It was not an explosion because (if it was) everything would be in pieces,” Margono said.

“This was a gradual cracking.”

Navy officials displayed several items, including a piece of the vessel’s torpedo system and a bottle of grease used to lubricate a periscope.

They also found a prayer mat commonly used by Muslims. Indonesia is the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation.

Margono said the hunt for the submarine and sailors would continue, but warned that deep waters made the recovery effort “very risky and difficult”.

“We don’t know about the victims’ condition because we haven’t found any of them. So we can’t speculate,” he said in response to questions about the possibility of survivors.

“But with the (discovery) of these items, you can make your own conclusion.”

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

An oil spill spotted where the submarine was thought to have submerged pointed to possible fuel-tank damage, fanning fears of a deadly disaster.

HOPES FADE FOR INDONESIA SUBMARINE CREW AS OXYGEN DWINDLES

Hopes of rescuing dozens aboard a missing Indonesian submarine faded Saturday as its oxygen reserves were believed to have run out, with the US and Australia joining the hunt in waters off Bali.

While warships, planes and hundreds of military personnel took part in a frantic search for the KRI Nanggala 402, authorities had said the German-built craft was equipped with enough oxygen for only three days after losing power.

But that deadline passed early Saturday with still no sign of the stricken vessel and its 53 crew.

“There’s been no progress yet,” said navy spokesman Julius Widjojono. “We are still combing the area.” The submarine — one of five in Indonesia’s fleet — disappeared early Wednesday during live torpedo training exercises off the Indonesian holiday island.

The Indonesian navy patrol boat KRI Singa load provisions at the naval base in Banyuwangi, East Java province, on April 24, during search operations off Bali. Picture; AFP

Despite hopes for a miracle, an oil spill spotted where the submarine is thought to have submerged pointed to possible fuel-tank damage, fanning fears of a deadly disaster.

“The oil spill is a bad sign,” said retired French vice-admiral Jean-Louis Vichot.

“If it’s from the submarine, then it is probably the end.” There were concerns that the submarine could have been crushed by water pressure if it sank to depths reaching 700 metres (2,300 feet) — well below what it was built to withstand.

– Few explanations –

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

Authorities have not offered possible explanations for the submarine’s sudden disappearance or commented on questions about whether the decades-old vessel was overloaded.

The military has said the submarine, delivered to Indonesia in 1981, was seaworthy.

Students and teachers pray for the 53 crew members aboard an Indonesian navy submarine at an Islamic school in Surabaya on April 23, 2021. Picture: AFP

Neighbouring Singapore and Malaysia, as well as the United States and Australia, were among nations helping in the hunt with nearly two dozen ships deployed to scour a search zone covering about 10 square nautical miles (34 square kilometres).

Australia’s HMAS Ballarat arrived on Saturday with a US P-8 Poseidon aircraft also helping to look for the craft.

Singapore’s MV Swift Rescue — a submarine rescue vessel — was expected later Saturday.

Indonesia’s military said earlier it had picked up signs of an object with high magnetism at a depth of between 50 and 100 metres (165 and 330 feet), fanning hopes of finding the submarine.

But the passing of Saturday’s oxygen deadline was likely to mean the Southeast Asian archipelago would be added to a list of countries struck by fatal submarine accidents.

Indonesian navy personnel are seeing resting as search operations for the missing vessel turn to retrieval. Picture: AFP

Among the worst was the 2000 sinking of the Kursk, the pride of Russia’s Northern Fleet.

That submarine was on manoeuvres in the Barents Sea when it sank with the loss of all 118 aboard. An inquiry found a torpedo had exploded, detonating all the others.

Most of its crew died instantly but some survived for several days before suffocating.

In 2003, 70 Chinese naval officers and crew were killed, apparently suffocated, in an accident on a Ming-class submarine during exercises in 2003.

Five years later, 20 people were killed by poisonous gas when a fire extinguishing system was accidentally activated on a Russian submarine being tested in the Sea of Japan.

And in 2018, authorities found the wreckage of an Argentine submarine that had gone missing a year earlier with 44 sailors aboard.

Originally published as Debris from Indonesian submarine found, crew presumed dead