The Indonesian navy is searching 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, did a torpedo drill in the north of the island of Bali, but did not reproduce the results as expected, a spokesman for the navy said.
“We are still searching in the waters of Bali, 96 kilometers from Bali, (for) 53 people,” military chief Hadi Tjahjanto told Reuters in a text message.
The military chief confirmed that assistance from Australia and Singapore had been sought after the submarine and missing crew members. He said contact with the vessel was lost 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 website of the Indonesian Cabinet Secretariat, and is undergoing a two-year renovation in South Korea, which was completed in 2012.
In the past, Indonesia has managed a fleet of 12 submarines purchased from the Soviet Union to patrol the waters of its vast archipelago.
But now it has a fleet of only five, including two German-built Type 209 submarines and three newer South Korean ships.
Indonesia has tried to upgrade its defense capabilities, but some of its equipment still in service is old and there have been fatal accidents with particularly obsolete military transport aircraft in recent years.
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