They search for a submarine in Indonesia with 53 people on board 0:46
(CNN) -
The Indonesian Navy changed the status of its submarine from "missing" to "sunk" on Saturday when a naval chief revealed debris believed to be from the ship at a press conference.
Authorities now hope to carry out an evacuation process to recover the KRI Nanggala-402 submarine and its crew when they identify its exact location, Indonesian Navy Chief of Staff Yudo Margono said.
The latest update brought dashed hopes to find the 53 crew members, who may have run out of oxygen early Saturday.
So far, no signs of them have been found, Yudo reported.
Indonesian Navy reduces search area for missing submarine
Some warships deployed in the Bali Sea, where the submarine was last contacted on Wednesday, will be used to help find the vessel by detecting metallic or magnetic objects in the sea, Yudo said.
He also indicated that an explosion is not believed to have occurred in the submarine, but that the strong pressure on the ship probably created a crack through which some elements escaped.
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Six pieces of debris believed to have come from the submarine were unveiled at the press conference.
The items were found about 3.1 kilometers from where the sub began to submerge before disappearing, Yudo said, and included a bottle of grease, part of a torpedo launcher, part of a metal tube, prayer mats and fuel.
The debris was found floating in a place where the sea is 850 meters deep, he said, which would make a possible evacuation very "difficult".
An Indonesian Navy patrol prepares to leave a naval base in Banyuwangi, East Java province, on Saturday as the army continues search operations off the coast of Bali for the missing submarine.
Authorities had previously said that the submarine could not withstand depths greater than 500 meters.
People who were on a previous mission on the KRI Nanggala-402 submarine confirmed that some of the debris belonged to the submersible, the navy chief of staff said.
The bottle of grease matches what the crew would use to lubricate the sub's periscope.
The father of one of the missing divers, Sunaryo, 48, said he and his wife were shocked and saddened by the news that debris had been found, but still hoped the Navy would be able to find their son, Gunadi Fajar Rahmanto. , 28, safe and sound.
I still think they can find my son.
Whatever happens, the evacuation process must continue, until my son and the rest of the crew can be found, "Sunaryo, from a small village in the Yogyakarta area, told CNN.
Sunaryo said his wife Sumiyati, 47, has cried and is worried about her daughter-in-law, who is seven months pregnant.
Gunadi's wife plans to return to her hometown in Central Java because she wants to give birth at her parents' home, he said.
Gunadi, who has the rank of ordinary sailor, joined the Navy seven years ago and was later assigned to the submarine.
He was last reunited with his parents on March 29, when Gunadi said goodbye before embarking on another sailing.
"I just said, be careful," Sunaryo commented.
He implored the Navy not to end the search and said he had updates from his son's naval colleagues.
Gunadi and the entire crew must be found, at all costs.
He is a good son, "he said.
High-tech capabilities
Indonesian search teams said on Friday they identified an area where the submarine could be located.
The area of interest is located about 40 kilometers north of Bali, where oil had been detected on the surface of the water near the point from which it was submerged, and where an object was detected that likely came from the submarine, according to Maj.
General Achmad Riyadh, head of the central military information unit. The Indonesian Navy changed the status of its missing submarine from "missing submarine" to "sunken submarine" on Saturday, when a naval chief revealed debris believed to be from the ship at a press conference
A naval ship detected an object with "strong magnetic resonance" at a depth of 50 to 100 meters, Riyadh reported at a press conference on Friday, and the navy expects its warship, the Riguel, to reach the search area on Friday. Friday.
The Riguel is equipped with a sonar to locate objects, and the navy hopes to find the KRI Nanggala-402, a German-made submarine that lost contact during a military exercise in the Straits of Bali on Wednesday morning.
An Indonesian serviceman posts photographs of the missing crew at the Ngurah Rai Military Air Base in Kuta, Bali, Indonesia, on April 23.
More ships with high-tech capabilities also joined the search efforts on Friday, creating a search team consisting of 21 Indonesian warships, a submarine, and additional vessels from the Indonesian police and rescue department.
Two Australian warships have also joined the search efforts.
"The ships HMA Ballarat and Sirius, both currently at sea in separate regional deployments, achieve the best speed for the search area," the Australian Defense Department said in a press release on Friday.
Rear Admiral Mark Hammond of the Australian task force added that his thoughts were with the KRI Nanggala divers, their families and the Indonesian people.
"As always, we are ready to help our fellow Indonesian Navy sailors," he said.
The United States will also send planes to assist in the search for the missing submarine.
Three C-17 jets were expected to depart Dover Air Force Base on Friday with submarine search and rescue vessels and equipment.
Submarine