Jakarta – The Indonesian army said on Wednesday it had called for help from Singapore and Australia to search for a submarine with 53 crew on board after losing contact with the ship off the coast of Bali.
“It is true that the KRI Nanggala 402 lost contact from early in the morning around 3:00 in the morning,” said First Admiral Julius Widjojono. He said the Indonesian navy was looking for the submarine.
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“We know the area, but it’s pretty deep,” Widjojono said.
Reuters news agency, citing a spokesman for the Indonesian navy, said the German-made submarine had been conducting a torpedo exercise north of the island of Bali in the early hours of Wednesday morning, but never reported the results as they should have had.
The Associated Press later reported that the ship had been rehearsing on Wednesday for a missile launch exercise scheduled for Thursday, which would be attended by Indonesian Army Chief Hadi Tjahjanto and other commanders.
Reuter said the submarine was built in 1978, but that it was completely overhauled in South Korea in 2012.