The Indonesian Navy is searching for a sunken submarine with over 50 passengers who face a lack of oxygen and potential implosion.
Fifty-three people are aboard the diesel-powered KRI Nanggala 402, which was reported missing after it missed a scheduled reporting call during a training exercise on Wednesday. On Thursday, authorities said the passengers would run out of their oxygen supply by 3 a.m. on Saturday.
While the reason for the submarine’s sinking is unknown, officials reported an oil slick near the starting position of its last dive, about 60 miles north of the island of Bali. The navy’s chief of staff, Adm. Yudo Margono, told reporters that officials located an object 50-100 meters deep that was magnetic, which they hope is the submarine, according to the Associated Press.
The nation’s navy has also said, however, that they believe the vessel sank to a depth of 600-700 meters (2,000-2,300 feet).
SUSPECTED SUICIDE BOMBING OUTSIDE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN INDONESIA INJURES AT LEAST 20
“Most rescue systems are really only rated to about 600 meters (1,970 feet),” Frank Owen, secretary of the Submarine Institute of Australia, said. “They can go deeper than that because they will have a safety margin built into the design, but the pumps and other systems that are associated with that may not have the capacity to operate. So they can survive at that depth, but not necessarily operate.”
As the navy searches, there has been disagreement as to how far the ship can sink before imploding.
Navy spokesman Julius Widjojono told an Indonesian news channel that the vessel could sustain a depth of up to 250-500 meters, according to NPR. However, Daewoo Shipbuilding official Ahn Guk-hyeon told the Associated Press that the submarine would implode if it passed a depth of 200 meters. Both depths are far less than what the navy suggested the submarine sank to.
Twenty navy ships, two submarines, and five aircraft are searching the area where the submarine was last detected, and other nations have offered their assistance in the effort, the Indonesian military said.
“Our main priority is the safety of the 53 crew members,” President Joko Widodo said in a televised address. “To the families of the crew members, I can understand your feelings, and we are doing our best to save all of the crew members on board.” He also asked the nation to pray that the vessel would be recovered.
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In 2017, a similar emergency happened in the South Atlantic after an Argentine submarine went missing with 44 people on board. The wreckage was not found until almost a year later.
