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The Indonesian naval submarine was found four days after it disappeared off the coast of Bali.

This was announced by the army chief of the Southeast Asian country, Air Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto, on Sunday.

"With this authentic evidence, we can confirm that the 'KRI Nanggala 402' sank and all 53 seafarers on board died while on duty," Tjahjanto said at a press conference.

The Indonesian Navy had previously discovered remains of the military submarine.

Marine chief Yudo Margono explained on Saturday that the findings also included items from inside the submarine.

In addition to a bottle of grease that is used to lubricate the periscope, the rescue workers also fished a Muslim prayer rug from the sea, among other things.

TV pictures from Indonesia showed the finds.

The debris was found at the point where the submarine was last submerged and search teams had discovered an oil spill.

Marine chief Yudo Margono ruled out that the parts came from another submarine.

Personal items should also be among the found objects

Source: Via REUTERS

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After the finds, the submarine was officially listed as sunk.

Hope of finding survivors had been extremely slim.

According to the Navy, the oxygen for the 53 people on board was only sufficient until Saturday morning (local time) - possibly not even as long as more people are said to have been on board than is usual for a submarine of this type.

The submarine "KRI Nanggala 402", built in Germany in 1981, set out on Wednesday during a military exercise on a dive trip in which torpedoes were to be fired.

After the corresponding order was issued, contact was broken off.

The Indonesian naval ship "KRI Singa" sets out to participate in the search

Source: dpa / Uncredited

In the past few days there had been a feverish search for the submarine, as the oxygen was only sufficient for three days in the event of a power failure.

Rescue workers on duty: The submarine was lost during a training exercise near East Java

Credit: AFP / SONNY TUMBELAKA

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In addition to Singapore, Malaysia and Australia, the USA also took part in the search with a total of almost two dozen ships and aircraft in the 34 square kilometer area.

Submarine is probably very deep

Military experts feared from the start that the submarine might have broken and sunk to a depth of up to 700 meters.

Marine Information Director Julius Widjojono added: “It is designed to dive to a depth of 250 to 500 meters.

Beyond that, it's dangerous. "

The authorities have not yet given a possible explanation for the sudden disappearance of the submarine.

They also did not comment on the question of whether the submarine was possibly overloaded.

The military only announced that the "KRI Nanggala 402" was seaworthy.

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It is still unclear what might have caused the accident.

According to the Navy, there could have been a power outage on board, which could have made rescue operations and resurfacing impossible.

President Joko Widodo called for prayers for the team.

The sunken boat was one of five submarines built in Germany and South Korea and owned by Indonesia.

The construction of the 1300-ton submarine type 209 by the industrial giant ThyssenKrupp began in 1978.

In 1981 it was delivered to Indonesia.

The disappearance of the “KRI Nanggala 402” brought back memories of the “Kursk” accident in 2000. When the Russian nuclear submarine sank in the Barents Sea, all 118 people on board died. An investigation later concluded that the accident was caused by a defective torpedo.