The Indonesian Navy declared the submarine KRI Nanggala 402 was destroyed and lost at sea after finding debris from the sub during its search efforts north of Bali, the Associated Press reports. The 53 submariners aboard are presumed dead.
The sub was participating in torpedo exercises on Wednesday when contact with it was lost. Search crews from Indonesia, Singapore and Australian were dispatched to the area, and the US Navy also sent ships and aircraft to help. The submarine was conducting a dive in waters 2,000 to 3,000 feet deep when the accident apparently occurred. The exact nature of the accident is unknown.
Navy Chief Yudo Margono told a press conference in Bali, “If it’s an explosion, it will be in pieces. The cracks happened gradually in some parts when it went down from 300 meters to 400 meters to 500 meters. … If there was an explosion, it would be heard by the sonar.”
Officials reported search crews found unspecified items that indicate the hull had cracked open as the submarine sank. They also stated they found an oil slick at the site of the ship’s last known location.