NEW DELHI, 23 April, 2021 (TON): On Thursday, the Indian Navy started searching Indian Navy rescuers on Thursday started searching for an Indonesian submarine that went missing with 53 people on board in waters north of the island of Bali.

The Indian Navy's Deep Submergence Rescue Vessel (DSRV) departed from Visakhapatnam to support the Indonesian Navy in Search and Rescue efforts for KRI Nanggala on Thursday.

On 21 April, an alert was received by the Indian Navy through the International Submarine Escape and Rescue Liaison Office (ISMERLO), regarding the missing Indonesian submarine.

The submarine was exercising in a location 25 miles North of Bali with a crew of 53 personnel.

In the South East Asian region, only India has deep submergence rescue capabilities and the DSRV can carry out rescue operations in deep waters.

However, the DSRV can recover submarine crews from depths up to 1000m and it is equipped with sonar and a Remotely Operated Vehicle to clear the underwater obstructions for the rescue operations. The DSRV can be transported to the area of operations by air or sea routes.

Accordingly, the Indonesian Defense Ministry had sought assistance on Wednesday from Australia, Singapore and India in the search and rescue operation of the 44-year-old submarine, KRI Nanggala-402.