VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Jakarta. Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Secretary General, Dr. Yousef bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen, sent a letter of condolence and sympathy to Indonesian President Joko Widodo following the sinking of the KRI Nanggala-402 submarine.

Dr Al-Othaimeen expressed sincere condolences to the president and people of Indonesia as well as to the bereaved families of the 53 crew members of the submarine and prayed to Allah Almighty for His vast and endless mercy to be granted to the souls of the deceased, according to a statement received in Jakarta, Wednesday.

The KRI Nanggala-402 submarine went off the radar on Wednesday (April 22) during live torpedo training exercises off the Indonesian holiday island of Bali.

The 40-year-old submarine was found disintegrated into three pieces on the sea bed after five days of search efforts. All 53 crew members of the vessel are confirmed dead.

Indonesia's Navy officials spoke of having received signals from the submarine more than 800 meters deep early on Sunday.

An underwater rescue vehicle, loaned by Singapore, was sent down to obtain visual confirmation of the wreckage.

Built in Germany in 1977, KRI Nanggala was refitted in South Korea in 2012..

Neighboring Singapore and Malaysia as well as the United States and Australia were among the nations that extended assistance to look for the submarine, with nearly two dozen warships deployed to scour a search zone spanning some 10 square nautical miles. (Antaranews)