Indonesia to salvage submarine after deadly sinking

BALI • Indonesia said yesterday it will salvage a submarine that sank off the coast of Bali, as grieving relatives paid their respects to the dozens of crew members killed in the disaster.

The authorities had yet to confirm if they would try to haul up the KRI Nanggala-402 from the sea floor, after it was spotted cracked in three pieces.

The navy yesterday said it was waiting on the arrival of two ships, including a vessel sent by China, which are equipped to handle deep-sea salvage operations.

High-powered magnets and air balloons were among the possible options, but how and when the cracked submarine would be brought to the surface was uncertain, said navy chief Yudo Margono.

"It's hard to talk about the specific timing, but I can say that as soon as help arrives, we'll start," he told reporters.

The bodies of the submarine's 53-strong crew are believed to still be inside the vessel, Admiral Margono said.

An underwater rescue vehicle supplied by neighbouring Singapore gave visual confirmation that the German-built submarine was lying on the sea floor at a depth of more than 800m.

The eerie images were final confirmation that there was no hope of finding survivors.

As part of a remembrance ceremony yesterday, the victims' families cast flowers from a navy ship into waters where the submarine went down.

The submarine - one of five in Indonesia's fleet - disappeared last week while it was scheduled to take part in live torpedo-firing exercises. The crew asked for permission to dive, and the vessel lost contact shortly after.

Later, search teams spotted an oil spill where the vessel was thought to have sank, pointing to possible fuel tank damage and a catastrophic accident.

The military has yet to offer an official explanation for the sinking of the decades-old submarine, which was delivered to the country in 1981. It has said, however, that the reconditioned vessel was seaworthy and discounted the possibility of an explosion.

The navy has said that the submarine may have suffered a blackout, leaving the crew unable to perform emergency measures.

Its hull would have been torn apart as it sank to depths far below what the KRI Nanggala-402 was built to withstand, it said.

The submarine's former commander, Rear Admiral Muhammad Ali, has told local media that a so-called internal solitary wave could have been to blame.

The natural phenomenon occurs when different sea depths come together, creating forces that could have dragged the vessel down, he said.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE