In the waters off the coast of the island of Bali, the wreckage of a submarine of the Indonesian Navy KRI Nanggala 402 was found, communication with the crew of which was lost on April 21 during an exercise. Reported on Saturday, April 24, RTE, citing the Indonesian military.
The commander of the Indonesian Navy, Yudo Margono, clarified that “the objects that were discovered could not go outside the submarine without external pressure or without damaging its torpedo launcher.”
Among the items, as the publication emphasizes, were a piece of a torpedo, a bottle of liquid used to lubricate the submarine’s periscope, and a prayer rug.
It is noted that at the moment the planes, as well as the military are looking for the wrecked submarine.
Indonesian submarine KRI Nanggala 402 stopped communicating on April 21. The ship, on board of which there were 53 people, conducted training torpedo launches. The submarine disappeared about 60 miles north of Bali. It was noted that the oxygen supply ran out, presumably on Friday, April 23, at 3:00 local time (23:00 Moscow time).
Russia, the USA, France, Germany, India and Turkey offered Indonesia their assistance in finding the vessel. At the same time, on April 23, it became known that two Australian warships joined the search for the submarine – the frigate Anzac HMAS Ballart and the replenishment vessel HMAS Sirius.
On April 21, it was reported that an oil slick was found near the place of the disappearance of the submarine.
According to Gazeta.ru, similar diesel fuel spills on the ocean surface suggest that the boat’s fuel tanks may have leaked. This, in turn, suggests the destruction of both the light and the strong hull of the submarine by excessive water pressure.
According to the Indonesian Ministry of Defense, the KRI Nanggala 402 submarine was built in Germany in 1977. She entered service with the Indonesian Navy in 1981. In 2012, its two-year modernization was completed, which was carried out in South Korea.