Indonesian Submarine With 53 Crew Goes Missing, Rescue Efforts Underway

A submarine went missing 25 miles off Bali, in the Indonesian waters since Wednesday.

The 53 crew member submarine KRI Nanggala-402 had gone missing during a torpedo drill in the area. Despite efforts by the Indonesian navy, the submarine couldn’t be traced and now the Indian navy has joined the rescue efforts

The situation is so concerning that an elaborate rescue team has been deployed by the Indonesian president to track and rescue the submarine.

The crew is in immediate danger as the oxygen supply in the vessel is fast depleting. The defence chiefs have reportedly ascertained that the crew can last till Saturday in the best-case scenario.

The vessel has been reported to contain enough oxygen supply till Saturday.

India Sends Mini-Sub To Rescue 53 Crew of Missing Indonesian Submarine - 2 — Image Credits: @indiannavy

The President has ordered both the navy and the military chief to deploy all forces to search for the submarine. The safety of the crew members has become the top priority now.

The Navy Chief Yudo Margono had revealed that the search operation is going smoothly as the weather is in favour and hopefully the crew would be rescued soon.

1395 tonne German-built 1981 commissioned Sub has been reported to be in good condition. The vessel had been refitted twice in South Korea recently in 2012

Countries in the area such as Malaysia, Singapore and Australia have assured all possible assistance.

Oil Spill Detected

So far navy vessels could only detect oil spill near the submarine dive location. This demarcates that the submarine can be damaged. A high magnetic force item had been detected floating somewhere between 50-100metres underwater.

Lately, the South Asian nation has been vigorously modernising its defence vessels but has been encountering fatal accidents as many of these vessels are old. However, the defence ministry has denied reports of any such accidents.

India Sends Mini-Sub To Rescue 53 Crew of Missing Indonesian Submarine — Image Credits: @indiannavy

Loss of Control Could Have Triggered It

The missing submarine has been reported to have the capacity of running at a depth of 250-500 metres. Its electric batteries can’t sustain anywhere below that level. Although the water in that area isn’t that deep like other regions in the Pacific yet it can be as deep as 1500 metres.

The Navy had suggested a blackout due to loss of control as a possible reason for the incident. This could have prevented the ship from executing the emergency procedure, resulting in a 700 metres fall by the sub.

The submarine had been missing since Wednesday at 4.30 am some 96 km away from Bali.

India Joins Rescue Effort

Meanwhile, India has reportedly sent a DSRV mini-submarine to aid in the operation. The DSRV reportedly has a capacity of going up to 1000 metres into the sea. It also has advanced sonar scanners and remotely operated vehicles.

The ship has the ability to join the disabled submarine and rescue the crew at a depth of 650metre. The ship’s SRV can also be used to send supplies to the lost submarine once it is located.

IAF pilots have been instructed to induct the DSRV from air and aid in the rescue of the missing sub.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Indian Navy had been alerted by the International Submarine Escape and Rescue Liaison Office regarding the missing Indonesian submarine

Reference: timesofindia.indiatimes.com