Missing Indonesian Submarine Found On The Ocean Floor, Crew Declared Dead

Indonesian Navy has declared that the missing Indonesian submarine has been found on the ocean floor. The submarine that went missing last week, is believed to have broken apart on hitting the ocean floor. And at that depth, there could be no survivor. All the 53 crew members are reportedly dead.

The wreckage had been located on the ocean floor by the search team on Sunday. Earlier on Saturday, the Indonesian government had declared the submarine sunk not just missing. Although the government hadn’t declared the crew dead at that time, the expectation of finding them alive was quite bleak.

When the submarine had gone missing, defence experts had revealed that the submarine KRI Nanggala 402 had only 3 days of oxygen supply which was likely to run out by Saturday.

Speaking about the wreckage discovery, the military chief Hadi Tjahjanto said that parts of the submarine-like the rear vertical rudder, embossed dive rudder, anchors etc could be identified from the underwater images of the wreck site.

The images have confirmed that the submarine has indeed sunk and all the 53 crew members have died in the fatal accident.

The pictures had been taken by an underwater robot equipped with cameras. The images revealed that the submarine had broken into 3 pieces as it hit the ocean floor 2750 feet below the sea.

Submarines can’t take the pressure at such depths as their normal depth tolerance is 200 meters. The vessel’s hull isn’t equipped to deal with that much pressure.

Earlier the navy had said that an electrical failure caused this accident as it prevented emergency resurfacing. But this isn’t certain and needs further investigation.

The scattered emergency survival suits indicated an attempt to emergency escape by the crew.

The Navy has been thinking about lifting the wreckage and recovering the bodies. However, it seems unlikely given the depth of it.

At present, the wreck lies in 3 parts 1500 meters from the dive site of the submarine.

All the pictures of the wreck have been taken by the underwater robot on the Singaporean ship MV Swift Rescue. Another Indonesian vessel KRI Rigel had aided the robot by scanning the area.

In a press conference, Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo had conveyed his condolences to the family of the deceased hailing them as true patriots and sons of the nation who uphold the sovereignty of the country at all costs.

Reference: firstpost.com