A frantic search has been launched after a submarine carrying 53 people mysteriously vanished off the coast of Bali – raising fears it has sunk.
The 60 metre Indonesian navy vessel failed to report back results of a training exercise on Wednesday, a spokesman said, sparking a huge search of the waters to the north of the island.
The submarine was taking part in a torpedo drill in North Bali waters, navy spokesman First Admiral Julius Widjojono told Reuters.
The German-made submarine, KRI Nanggala-402, was conducting failed to relay the results as expected at 3am local time, officials confirmed.
Several warships have been dispatched to the area, while the navy is seeking help from Australia and Singapore.
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The Nanggala is thought to have disappeared around 26.5 miles northwest off Singaraja, Janes reports.
Indonesia’s navy sent a distress call to the International Submarine Escape and Rescue Liaison Office (ISMERLO) shortly before 9.40am to report the vessel missing
It said there is a presumption that it has sunk.
The submarine is one of two Cakra-class attack vessels operated by the Indonesian navy, it is reported.
Indonesia’s National Armed Forces Commander Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto told national newspaper Kompas: “Just when the dive permit was given, after being given the clearance, contact was immediately lost.”
He told Reuters in a text message: “We are still searching in the waters of Bali, 60 miles (96 km) from Bali, (for) 53 people.”
The 1,395-tonne KRI Nanggala-402 was built in Germany in 1978, according to the Indonesian cabinet secretariat’s website, and underwent a two-year refit in South Korea that was completed in 2012.
Indonesia in the past operated a fleet of 12 submarines purchased from the Soviet Union to patrol the waters of its sprawling archipelago.
But now it has a fleet of only five including two German-built Type 209 submarines and three newer South Korean vessels.
Indonesia has been seeking to upgrade its defence capabilities but some of its equipment still in service is old and there have been deadly accidents involving in particular ageing military transport planes in recent years.