This week, grieving relatives gathered in different parts of Indonesia to pay their respects to the sailors who perished, and urged the authorities to raise their bodies from the depths.Experts warn that it will be a daunting task to lift the submarine to the surface, requiring specialised salvage equipment.
First Admiral Julius Widjojono, a spokesman for the navy, said on Wednesday that authorities were coordinating with the state energy regulator to see whether companies had gear to lift heavy parts.An international search and rescue effort involving aircraft and specialised naval vessels, including from Singapore, Australia and the United States, had raced to try to find the submarine in case it was still intact and before oxygen ran out.
On Sunday, Indonesia's military chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto confirmed that the Nanggala had sunk and that all of its crew had died.