'Deep sorrow' after Indonesian sub found split into three pieces
The wreckage of an Indonesian submarine that sank in the waters off Bali this week was located on Sunday, leading the country's military chief to confirm the death of all 53 personnel on board.
"We have visual images which we have confirmed as parts of the KRI Nanggala 402" submarine, Air Marshall Hadi Tjahjanto said in a press conference.
Parts of the submarine, such as anchors, safety suits and rudders, were found near the main wreckage, he said.
"With deep sorrow, as the military chief I declare that all 53 personnel on board the submarine ... died on duty in the waters north of Bali," he said.
Navy chief of staff Admiral Yudo Margono said an Indonesian survey vessel had found signs of the submarine at a depth of 800 metres - far below the dive limit of the vessel.
A Singaporean submarine rescue vessel, which only arrived in the search area early on Sunday, subsequently found the wreck at the site using a remotely operated underwater vehicle, or ROV.
"The ROV had visual contact ... at a depth of 838 [metres], where it found parts of KRI Nanggala, which had broken into three," Margono said.
The submarine was taking part in a torpedo-firing exercise off the northern coast of Bali when it lost contact as it was about to be given clearance to fire its torpedo early on Wednesday.
Oxygen until Saturday
Oxygen supplies on board were only sufficient to last until Saturday morning, leading rescuers to presume the crew dead even before the submarine was found.
Items from the submarine were found in the water following search efforts involving 21 ships and five aircraft, an Australian frigate and a US maritime patrol aircraft.
The German-made, Cakra-class submarine joined the Indonesian navy in 1981 and was retrofitted in South Korea from 2009 to 2012.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo said earlier on Sunday that he had sent condolences to the families of the victims.
"This incident is a shock to all of us. We conveyed our deepest sorrow for this tragedy, especially to the submariners' families," he said in a video broadcast on YouTube.