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All 53 crew dead as Indonesian submarine found split into three

An Indonesian navy submarine that sank off the coast of Bali on Wednesday has been found split into three pieces on the sea bed, officials say.

All the vessel’s 53 crew have been confirmed dead.

Read Also: Debris from missing Indonesian submarine found – Navy

Navy officials said they had received signals from the sub’s location more than 800m (2,600ft) deep early on Sunday.

An underwater rescue vehicle loaned by Singapore was sent down to get visual confirmation of the wreckage.

Video recorded from a submersible rescue vehicle of the Indonesian Navy submarine KRI Nanggala during a press conference in Bali, Indonesia, 25 April 2021
Images from an underwater rescue vehicle showed the shattered remains of the sub

The KRI Nanggala disappeared after requesting permission to dive during a torpedo drill. The reason for its sinking is not yet clear.

Sunday’s statement came a day after the Indonesian military confirmed that debris from the sub, including prayer mats, had been found in the area where it went missing.

Navy Chief of Staff Yudo Margono said more items from the submarine had been recovered including an anchor and crew safety suits.

An escape suit believed to be from the sunken Indonesian Navy KRI Nanggala submarine is shown at a news conference in Bali, Indonesia, April 25, 2021
Escape suits are among items recovered from the sunken vessel
A press conference in Bali, Indonesia, 25 April 2021
Military chiefs revealed the latest images of the vessel at a news conference in Bali

“The KRI Nanggala is divided into three parts, the hull of the ship, the stern of the ship, and the main parts are all separated, with the main part found cracked,” he told reporters on Sunday.

KRI Nanggala 402 graphic

The head of Indonesia’s military, Hadi Tjahjanto, confirmed that there was no chance of finding any of the crew alive.

“With deep sadness I can say that all 53 personnel on board have died,” he told reporters.

Experts had said earlier that the depth at which the submarine was found was well beyond its survivable limit and it was only carrying enough oxygen for three days.

Family of missing crew at Koarmada II fleet office in Surabaya, East Java Province, Indonesia April 25 2021
The families of missing crew members had held out hope that they could have survived

President Joko Widodo described the crew as Indonesia’s “best patriots”, adding: “All Indonesians convey their deep sadness over this incident, especially to the families of the submarine crew.”

The KRI Nanggala’s disappearance led to an international search operation with US, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, and India providing help.

The German-built vessel was more than 40 years old but underwent a refit in 2012.

Image shows a map of Indonesia and the location where the submarine went missing

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