Chilling Photos of the Submarine That Broke Into Pieces and Took 53 Lives

In the first murky images of a sunken Indonesian submarine released by the military, pieces of the underwater vessel are seen lying on the seabed. The photos released by the military but taken by a remote operation vehicle provided by Singapore, showed the hull, the main part of the submarine, split into several parts.

As the fate of the missing submarine became clear, President Joko Widodo expressed “deep sorrow” to relatives of the 53 victims who perished in the maritime disaster.

“Based on the evidence, it can be stated that the KRI Nanggala has sunk and all of its crew have died,” Indonesian military chief Hadi Tjahjanto told reporters in a press conference in Bali on Sunday.

The German-built submarine went missing early Wednesday shortly after it was given clearance to dive as part of live torpedo exercises. It immediately lost contact and failed to report back.

Over the weekend search teams found several personal items they believe belonged to members of the crew, including a prayer mat.

Indonesia sent a total of 25 ships to locate the missing submarine – which has been in service since 1981 – and received help and offers of assistance from multiple countries. The crew had enough oxygen to last until Saturday, but the navy believes the submarine may have experienced power failures rendering it unable to resurface. 

As of Monday afternoon, rescuers have yet to retrieve any bodies from the sunken submarine, which is on the seabed at a depth of 2,788 feet (850 meters). It was only designed to withstand a depth of up to 1,640 feet (500 meters).

The navy also believes that the submarine gradually cracked as it descended deeper and deeper into the ocean.

Widodo expressed condolences in a nationwide address on Monday. He said the government would pay for the education of the victims’ children.

People from various religions in the predominantly Muslim nation held roses as they gathered in Surabaya on Sunday to offer prayers for the 53 crew members.

“On behalf of the people, country and the nation, I would like to express my deep sorrow to the families and those left behind," he said.

"This tragedy shocked us all. Not only the families of the 53 crew members and the navy, but also the entire Indonesian people," Widodo said in a previous statement on Sunday.

The cause of the accident is still unclear, but it shone a spotlight on the race to acquire submarines in the region, as tensions heat up in the South China Sea.

Countries in East and Southeast Asia have expressed desire to either modernize submarine fleets or acquire new ones as regional maritime disputes with Beijing grow.