Jakarta The Indonesian military said on Wednesday that it had asked Singapore and Australia for help in the search for a submarine with 53 crew members on board after they lost contact with the vessel off the coast of Bali.
“It is true that the KRI Nanggala 402 has lost contact since early this morning around 3am,” said First Admiral Julius Widjojono. He said the Indonesian navy was looking for the sub.
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“We know the area, but it’s quite deep,” Widjojono said.
The Reuters news agency, referring to an Indonesian navy spokesman, said the German-made submarine did a torpedo drill north of the island of Bali early Wednesday morning, but never reported the results as it should have.
The Associated Press later reported that the vessel was training on Wednesday for a rocket fire exercise that would take place on Thursday, and would be attended by the Indonesian army chief, Hadi Tjahjanto and other commanders.
Reuter said the submarine was built in 1978, but completely refurbished in South Korea in 2012.