Jakarta — Indonesia’s military said Wednesday that it had asked Singapore and Australia for help in the search for a submarine with 53 crew aboard after losing contact with the vessel off the coast of Bali.
“It’s true that the KRI Nanggala 402 lost contact since early this morning around 3:00 am,” said First Admiral Julius Widjojono. He said the Indonesian navy was searching for the sub.
“We know the area but it’s quite deep,” Widjojono said.
The Reuters news agency, citing an Indonesian navy spokesperson, said the German-made submarine had been conducting a torpedo drill north of the island of Bali early Wednesday morning, but never reported the results as it should have.
The Associated Press later reported that the vessel had been rehearsing on Wednesday for a missile-firing exercise scheduled to take place on Thursday, and be attended by the Indonesian military’s chief Hadi Tjahjanto and other commanders.
Reuter said the submarine was built in 1978, but completely overhauled in South Korea in 2012.
