REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BADUNG -- A total of 53 crew members of the KRI Nanggala-402 submarine were declared dead.
Commander of the Indonesian National Army (TNI) Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto announced the status of 53 crew during a press conference at the Base Ops Air Force Base Ngurah Rai, Badung, Bali, Sunday (25/4) evening.
This submarine carries 53 people consisting of 49 crew members, a unit commander, and three weapons personnel. The submarine lost contact when they were conducting combat drills in the Balinese waters.
The TNI commander said the status of the KRI Nanggala-402 had become subsunk after the search team conducted a search for 72 hours.
Saturday is the third day of searching since the KRI Nanggala-402 was declared lost contact on Wednesday (21/4) morning in the waters of the north side of Bali Island.
Saturday morning is also the deadline for life support in the form of oxygen availability for the KRI Nanggala crew, which is 72 hours, if the electricity in the ship is completely black out.
Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Navy (KASAL) Admiral TNI Yudo Margono said the KRI Nanggala-402 was found at a depth of 838 meters below deep sea level. At that depth, KRI Nanggala was divided into three parts.