On April 23, Yahoo! News reported that a mysterious object with ‘high magnetic force’ was discovered floating in the waters near the missing Indonesian submarine with 53 people on board.
The 44-year-old Indonesian submarine, KRI Nanggala-402, was conducting a torpedo drill 95km north of Bali on April 21 when it disappeared.
Yudo Margono, the naval chief of staff, told reporters that authorities had found an object with “high magnetic force” floating at a depth of 50 to 100 meters. Authorities hope the object could be the missing submarine and are currently waiting for a naval ship with underwater detection facilities to help them investigate the object further. The Indonesian military has so far declined to comment on whether the decades-old submarine, carrying 53 crew, is overpowered. 
Submarine KRI Nanggala-402 – Photo: Reuters However, they said the submarine may have sank to great depths after a power outage left the crew unable to control the ship. If the object is found to be part of the submarine, the navy suspects the crew may have discharged its fuel load after a power outage to allow the submarine to float. Navy officials feared the submarine might explode. Collin Koh, a naval expert and research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said damage to the fuel tank could cause “big trouble”. Naval spokesperson Julius Widjojono previously told KompasTV that a battery-powered submarine when submerged could only maintain a depth of 250 to 500 meters. “Anything that makes it go deeper than that can be fatal and dangerous,” he said. The waters in the region are shallower than in other parts of the archipelago but can still reach depths of more than 1,500 meters.
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