Rescue teams from several countries were battling against time on Friday to find a missing Indonesian Navy submarine lost in the Bali Sea with 53 crew which is rapidly running out of oxygen if not already.
According to reports, Search helicopters and more navy ships left Bali and a naval base in Java at first light heading to the area where contact was lost with the 44-year-old KRI Nanggala-402 on Wednesday.
Indonesia’s navy said it was investigating whether the submarine lost power during a dive and could not carry out emergency procedures as it descended to a depth of 600-700 metres which is well beyond its survivable limits.
Indonesian Navy Chief of Staff Yudo Margono said an aerial search had earlier spotted an oil spill near the submarine’s last location and that an object with “high magnetic force” had been spotted “floating” at a depth of 50-100 metres.
Officials say if the submarine was still intact, it would only have enough air to last about another 15 hours until early Saturday morning as the diesel-electric powered submarine could withstand a depth of up to 500 metres but anything more could be fatal.
An Indonesian defence expert Connie Rahakundini Bakrie said the crew could still be found alive but that if the submarine is in a 700-metre sea trough, it will be difficult for them to survive because underwater pressure will cause cracks and ruptures of the steel hull.
Discover more from LN247
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
