Nanggala-402 Declared Sank, Cause of the Sinking Is Still Uncertain

The Indonesian Navy declared that KRI Nanggala-402, its missing submarine, had sunk, with no hope of finding survivors, Sunday (4/26). This decision was taken after the rescuers discovered several items believed to be from the vessel and also after getting an underwater picture of the vessel's wreckage on the ocean floor. The image was taken by the MV Swift Rescue, a submarine support and rescue vessel operated by the Singapore Navy, the first foreign rescue vessel to arrive on site.

Underwater images obtained by the remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) from MV Swift Rescue found Nanggala sank on the ocean's floor at a depth of 838 meters (2,750 feet) and had been split into three parts. What is shown in the picture includes: rear vertical rudder, anchors, the outside of the pressure body, the diving rudder, other parts of the ship.

The ROV also found a Submarine Escape Immersion Equipment (SEIE) MK-11 from the sunken submarine and raised it to the surface. Previously, floating at sea level, searchers also found parts of a torpedo straightener, a grease bottle believed to be used to oil the periscope, prayer rugs, and a broken piece from a coolant pipe that was refitted on the submarine in South Korea in 2012.

The search has not found any human bodies so far. But based on the findings, the Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Air Chief Marshall Hadi Tjahjanto decided that all 53 submarine crews had died. The death of 53 sailors constitutes the largest reported loss of life aboard a submarine since the Chinese submarine Changcheng 361 malfunctioned in April 2003.