Indonesia ends salvage efforts for sunken submarine

[JAKARTA] Indonesia's navy has officially ended its efforts to salvage the KRI Nanggala-402 submarine, which sank in April in waters off Bali island, leading to the deaths of all 53 on board, a navy spokesman said on Wednesday.

Discovered in three parts at a depth of 840 metres, authorities had acknowledged the difficulties of retrieving the vessel, despite assistance from countries around the region, including China, Australia and Malaysia.

"The salvage effort is over," spokesman Julius Widjojono said, adding that some parts of the Nanggala remain on the sea floor.

The 44-year-old submarine lost contact with the navy in the early hours of April 21 while preparing to conduct a torpedo drill in the Bali Sea.

The incident had sparked a desperate, international search and rescue effort to locate the submarine before its oxygen supplies were exhausted.

REUTERS