Dramatic search for the lost Indonesian submarine …

With the hours counted and the possibilities of rescue increasingly narrow, the Indonesian government has deployed five ships and a helicopter as part of the operation with which, for the second consecutive day, it continues with the search for the missing submarine north of the islands of Bali, with 53 crew on board.

More than 400 people collaborate on the follow-up mission and technical and military personnel from Singapore, Malaysia and Australia They offered assistance with the expedition ships to bolster the rescue mission.

Achmad Riad, director of the Indonesian Armed Forces Information Team, reported that recently Next Saturday, a special ship will arrive in this area to detect submarines.

Indonesian Navy Chief Yudo Margono explained that the missing submarine contains approximately 72 hours of oxygen.

According to the naval chief, search teams found a source of great magnetism at a depth of between 50 and 100 meters, which could give clues to the location of the submarine in the waters between the islands of Bali and Java.

As for the fuel stain found in the sea, Margono said it could be because the submarine could float about 50 or 100 meters and the crew could have released fuel to lighten the ship. Another hypothesis, he added, is that it was due to a ruptured fuel tank which sank the aircraft about 500 or 700 meters away.

The missing vessel is a KRI Nanggala-402 submarine, made in Germany in 1977, with which contact has been lost. during military exercises with torpedoes at a depth of about 700 meters.

The last communication took place on Tuesday afternoon, when the crew requested clearance to launch a torpedo and then lost ground connection. Four hours later, helicopter search teams located a fuel leak near the area last contact.

The ships participating in the exercise immediately began the search. Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said Australian Defense “will help in any way possible” and that they are in contact with their Indonesian neighbors, to determine the type of collaboration.

A letter from the army signed on April 16 invited the media to cover the military exercises planned for this Thursday of the KRI Nanggala-402, which included exercises with guns, rockets and torpedoes in the Strait of Bali, which separates this island from Java. .

Indonesia currently has a fleet of five submarines, two German-made, including the missing one, acquired in 1981, and three made in South Korea.