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ACCIDENT - JAKARTA. A search for an Indonesian submarine that went missing with 53 people on board continued on Thursday after rescuers found an oil spill near where the vessel dived and as neighbouring countries pledged to help.
The 44-year-old submarine, KRI Nanggala-402, was conducting a torpedo drill in waters north of the island of Bali on Wednesday but failed to relay the results as expected, a navy spokesman said.
An aerial search found an oil spill near the submarine's dive location and two navy vessels with sonar capability have been deployed to assist in the search, the Defence Ministry said.
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A ministry statement said requests for assistance had been sent and Australia, Singapore and India had responded.
Australian defence forces would "help in any way we can", Foreign Minister Marise Payne told ABC radio on Thursday.
"We operate very different submarines from this one, but the Australian Defence Force and Australian Defence Organisation will work with defence operations in Indonesia to determine what we may be able to do," Payne said.
Indonesia's military chief Hadi Tjahjanto told Reuters in a text message on Wednesday that contact with the vessel was lost at 4:30 a.m. and a search was underway for the submarine and its 53 crew in ocean 60 miles (96 km) off Bali.
