Indonesian navy ships were scouring the waters off Bali on Friday as they raced against time to find a submarine that disappeared two days ago and has less than a day’s supply of oxygen left for its 53 crew. The KRI Nanggala 402 went missing after its last reported dive on Wednesday off the resort island, and concern is mounting the submarine may have sunk too deep to reach or recover.
Meanwhile, the United States is sending “airborne assets” to help search for the Indonesian submarine that went missing, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said Thursday. The US assets will join a sprawling search effort. Three submarines, five airplanes and 21 warships have been deployed to help search for the missing sub. Assets from Singapore and Malaysia are also en route to assist. Kirby added Thursday that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will speak with his Indonesian counterpart, Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto to discuss what else the US can do to assist the search. The Indonesian military suspects that an oil spill seen in aerial surveillance near the dive point on Wednesday came from the craft. But the submarine may be unsalvageable if it descended too deep into the sea. The Indonesia navy believes the sub sank to a depth of 600 to 700 meters, but experts previously told that most rescue crews and systems cannot operate past 600 meters.
