Indonesia Submarine Missing: Search Team Finds Oil Spill Near Dive Location
KEY POINTS
Australia, Singapore and India have responded to requests for assistance
The submarine can dive up to 250-500 meters below sea level
Aerial search teams looking for an Indonesia navy submarine found an oil patch near the estimated diving location of the vessel Thursday. The vessel, with 53 people on board, went missing Wednesday north of the island of Bali.
The search for the submarine and its crew continued Thursday as concerns were raised about the chances of a possible maritime disaster, Reuters reported. Neighboring countries, including Australia, Singapore and India, have responded to requests for assistance.
Indonesia: Submarine missing after torpedo exercise
Dozens of people are on board Indonesia s KRI Nanggala-402 submarine that has gone missing. Officials believe the vessel, designed to dive to up to 500 meters, might be some 700 meters underwater.
The KRI Nanggala-402 was built in West Germany in in the late 1970s
Indonesian authorities continued to search for a missing submarine, believed to be 700 meters underwater, the Navy said on Thursday.
The KRI Nanggala-402 submarine had stopped responding early Wednesday, defense officials said. It is designed to dive to depths of 250-500 meters. Beyond that it s dangerous, Navy spokesman Admiral Julius Widjojono was quoted as saying by DPA news agency.
Singapore navy dispatches submarine rescue vessel to Indonesia
SINGAPORE The Singapore navy has dispatched its submarine rescue vessel to Indonesia to help in the search for the missing Indonesian navy submarine KRI Nanggala 402.
In a Facebook post on Thursday (22 April), Singapore s Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said the MV Swift Rescue was dispatched expeditiously on Wednesday afternoon, after the Chief of Navy received a request for assistance from his Indonesian counterpart.
The KRI Naggala 402, with 53 crew on board, went missing in the early hours of Wednesday during regular exercises off the coast of Bali, more than 1,500km away from Singapore and in deep waters.
He said rescuers found an unidentified object with high magnetism at a depth of 50 to 100 meters (165 to 330 feet) and that officials hope it’s the submarine.
The navy believes the submarine sank to a depth of 600-700 meters (2,000-2,300 feet), much deeper than its estimated collapse depth.
Ahn Guk-hyeon, an official from South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, which refitted the vessel in 2009-2012, said the submarine would collapse if it goes deeper than around 200 meters (655 feet) because of pressure. He said his company upgraded much of the submarine’s internal structures and systems but lacks recent information about the vessel.
JAKARTA, Indonesia Indonesia’s navy ships on Thursday were intensely searching for a submarine that likely fell too deep to retrieve, making survival chances for the 53 people on board slim. Authorities said oxygen in the submarine would run out by early Saturday.
The diesel-powered KRI Nanggala 402 was participating in a training exercise Wednesday when it missed a scheduled reporting call. Officials reported an oil slick and the smell of diesel fuel near the starting position of its last dive, about 96 kilometers (60 miles) north of the resort island of Bali, though there has been no conclusive evidence that they are linked to the submarine.