Video widely circulated on Monday shows the crew of an Indonesian submarine singing a farewell song weeks before the vessel was destroyed.
“Even though I’m not ready to be missing you, I’m not ready to live without you,” the group sang, according to a translation from Agence France-Presse. “I wish all the best for you.”
The song was recorded as a goodbye message for the outgoing commander of the nation’s navy submarine corps, Indonesian military spokesman Djawara Whimbo told the outlet.
INDONESIAN SUBMARINE FOUND IN THREE PARTS, CREW DECLARED DEAD
The 53-person crew of the diesel-powered KRI Nanggala-402 was declared dead on Sunday after the Indonesian military announced it had located the vessel in three parts deep in the ocean. The vessel was deemed missing after failing to attend a scheduled reporting call during a training exercise on Wednesday.
“Based on the evidence, it can be stated that the KRI Nanggala has sunk, and all of its crew have died,” military Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto said, according to the Associated Press.
The cause of the vessel’s demise is unclear, but military officials have said that an electrical failure could have played a role in the incident. The navy’s chief of staff, Yudo Margono, clarified that the submarine’s crew was not believed to have been at fault.
Margono also said that the navy eventually plans to recover the vessel and the dead but that its depth poses a significant challenge.
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Heri Oktavian, the commander of the submarine at the time of its sinking, can be seen in the middle of the video.
Music group Endank Soekamti, which the New York Times reports wrote the song the group sang, posted on Instagram, “If land is not where you are destined to return to, there is a place for you in heaven,” according to a translation from the outlet.
