The Indonesian navy is looking for a missing submarine with 53 people on board who went missing on Wednesday and is seeking help from neighboring Australia and Singapore in the hunt, the Indonesian military chief told Reuters.
The German-made submarine, KRI Nanggala-402, was carrying out a torpedo in the northern waters of the island of Bali, but failed to deliver the results as expected, a Navy spokesman said.
“We are still searching the waters of Bali, 96 km from Bali, (for) 53 people,” military chief Hadi Tjahjanto told Reuters in a text message.
The military chief confirmed that assistance had been requested in the search for the missing submarine and crew members from Australia and Singapore. He said he lost contact with the ship on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.
Representatives of the defense departments of Australia and Singapore did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The 1,395-tonne KRI Nanggala-402 was built in Germany in 1978, according to the Indonesian cabinet secretariat’s website, and underwent a two-year refurbishment in South Korea, which was completed in 2012.
In the past, Indonesia operated a fleet of 12 submarines purchased from the Soviet Union to patrol the waters of its vast archipelago.
But it now has a fleet of only five, including two 209-type submarines built in Germany and three newer ships in South Korea.
Indonesia has sought to improve its defense capabilities, but some of its equipment is still in operation and there have been fatal accidents involving, in particular, the aging of military transport aircraft in recent years.
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