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Families remember victims of Nanggala disaster
The missing submarine was found north of Bali at 838 meters below sea level.
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Family members hold photographs of Marine Colonel Harry Setiawan, commander of the Navy's KRI Nanggala (402) submarine that went missing off the coast of Bali on April 21 during a training exercise, at their family home in Depok on April 24, 2021. (AFP/Rayi Gigih)
T
he hopes of the families of the sailors aboard the Indonesian Navy’s KRI Nanggala-402 submarine were dashed on Sunday after the vessel was found in pieces on the seabed north of Bali and all 53 crew members were declared dead.
The Indonesian Military (TNI) announced it had located the submarine 838 meters below sea level about 1.3 kilometers south of the location from which it had made its last contact.
"With great sadness, I, the TNI commander, announce that the great soldiers of the Submarine Unit have died on duty in the sea north of Bali," TNI commander Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto said during a press briefing on Sunday.
The announcement ended a four-day international search effort. Personnel from Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, India and the United States had helped scour the 10 square nautical miles believed to contain the 43-year-old submarine.
Singapore's MV Swift Rescue discovered the submarine on Sunday morning and observed that the vessel had broken into three parts, with portions of its stern and bow detached from its main body, where cracks were also detected. An escape vest that would have typically been stowed in a box was also found, suggesting an emergency situation had required the crew to put the vests on.
Navy chief of staff Adm. Yudo Margono said the TNI would work on lifting the submarine but that all final decisions would be in the hands of the government. He said that once the bodies were recovered, they would be sent to Surabaya, East Java, or to a location requested by the victim’s family.
"Certainly, within the ISMERLO [International Submarine Escape and Rescue Liaison Office], our colleagues abroad are offering [assistance with lifting the submarine]," he said.
