Joko Widodo sends condolences to families of crew on doomed submarine

IndonesianPresidentJoko Widodo on Monday expressedcondolencesto thefamiliesof the 53crewmembers aboard the Nanggala-402submarinethat was found a day earlier broken into three parts at the bottom of the Bali Sea.

In an address to the nation, thepresidentalso said that the government would pay for the education of the children of thecrewmembers.

All 53 crew aboard an Indonesian submarine that disappeared last week were killed, the military said Sunday as it confirmed the vessel had been found in pieces on the seafloor.

Authorities said that they picked up signals early Sunday from a location more than 800 metres (2,600 feet) deep -- far below what the KRI Nanggala 402's steel hull was built to withstand.

They had used an underwater submarine rescue vehicle supplied by neighbouring Singapore to get visual confirmation of the stricken vessel.

"It was broken into three pieces," said Navy Chief of Staff Yudo Margono.

More parts from the doomed submarine were also retrieved, including an anchor and fluorescent orange safety suits for emergencies, authorities said.

The discovery camea day after the navy had first confirmed the retrieval of fragments from the submarine and declared that it had sunk, effectively ending any chance of finding survivors.

Among the earlier items recovered were a piece of the torpedo system and a bottle of grease used to lubricate periscopes.

They also found a prayer mat commonly used inIndonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation.

Warships, planes and hundreds of military personnel had led a frantic search for the submarine since it disappeared this week during training exercises, hoping for a miracle rescue before its known oxygen reserves ran out.

But on Sunday, Indonesian military head Hadi Tjahjanto said there was no chance of finding any of the crew alive.

"With deep sadness, I can say that all 53 personnel onboard have passed," he told reporters.

President Joko Widodo described the sailors asIndonesia's "best patriots".

"All Indonesians convey their deep sadness over this incident, especially to the families of the submarine crew," he said.

Authorities have not given an explanation for the accident but said that the submarine may have suffered a blackout that left its crew unable to resurface.

They discounted an explosion, however, saying Saturday that the evidence suggested the submarine came apart as it was crushed by massive water pressure in the vast depths.

Neighbouring Malaysia, as well as the United States, India and Australia, were among the nations helping in the hunt.

Search vessels, reconnaissance aircraft and submarine rescue ships had been deployed to scour a zone of about 10 square nautical miles (34 square kilometres).

The submarine, one of five inIndonesia's fleet,disappeared early Wednesday while it was scheduled to do live torpedo training exercises off Bali.

The crew asked for permission to dive. It lost contact shortly after.

Later, search teams spotted an oil spill where the vessel was thought to have submerged, pointing to possible fuel-tank damage, and a catastrophic accident.

The submarine,delivered toIndonesiain 1981, was seaworthy, the military said.

The model has been used by more than a dozen navies around the world.

But investigators would look at the Indonesian submarine's age as a potential factor, analysts have said.

The disaster was among a string of fatal submarine accidents over the past few decades.

Among the worst was the 2000 sinking of the Kursk, the pride of Russia's Northern Fleet.

That submarine was on manoeuvres in the Barents Sea when it sank with the loss of all 118 aboard. An inquiry found a torpedo had exploded, detonating all the others.

Most of its crew died instantly but some survived for several days before suffocating.