The Indonesian navy is looking for a missing submarine with 53 people on board that went missing on Wednesday and is seeking help from neighboring Australia and Singapore on the hunt, the Indonesian military chief told Reuters.
The German-made submarine, KRI Nanggala-402, was conducting a torpedo exercise in the northern waters of the island of Bali, but was unable to transmit the results as expected, a Navy spokesman said.
“We are still searching the waters of Bali, 96 miles from Bali (for) 53 people,” military chief Hadi Tjahjanto told Reuters in a text message.
The military chief confirmed that help had been sought in finding the missing submarine and crew members in Australia and Singapore. He said contact with the boat was lost on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.
Representatives from 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 that was completed in 2012.
Indonesia has in the past operated a fleet of 12 submarines purchased from the Soviet Union to patrol the waters of its vast archipelago.
But it now has only a fleet of five, including two German-made Type 209 submarines and three newer South Korean ships.
Indonesia has been trying to improve its defense capabilities, but some of its equipment still in service is old and there have been fatal accidents affecting, in particular, military transport aircraft that have aged in recent years.
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