General Hatami offered his condolences to General Prabowo Subianto and asked the God Almighty to bestow forbearance and patience for the bereaved families of victims.
Communication with the submarine was lost on Wednesday, as it was conducting a torpedo drill in waters north of the island of Bali. According to reports, the oxygen supply in the submarine was expected to run out this morning, the Russian Sputnik news agency said.
A missing Indonesian Navy sub has been discovered in the waters near Bali, at a depth of 850 meters (around 2,800 feet), the Chief of Staff announced on Saturday. According to the statement, authorities are setting up rescue operations in a bid to evacuate surviving members of the submarine's crew.
The German-made submarine, KRI Nanggala-402 is carrying fifty-three people, and their fate has been unclear since Wednesday when the vessel failed to communicate with the military.
Several Indonesian military vessels were conducting search operations, while Jakarta has also requested help from Singapore and Australia in finding the missing submarine and its crew.
The wreckage of an Indonesian Navy submarine missing since Wednesday has been found on the sea floor and all its 53 crew are confirmed dead, Indonesia military commander Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto said Sunday.
The news came a day after debris believed to be from the KRI Nanggala-402 submarine was found floating about two miles from the submarine's last known location in the Bali Strait, leading military officials to change the vessel's status from missing to sunk.
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