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‘My heart is broken’: families lost Indonesian crew | Military News

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Surabaya, Indonesia – Until Sunday evening, Winny Widayanti was trying to contact her husband, 45-year-old Colonel Harry Setiawan — one of the 53 crew members of the Indonesian submarine KRI Nanggala-402.

She took pictures of her husband’s friends who came to their house and sent them to him, and he continued to send updates about their children, even though the messages never returned.

“My heart is broken. It’s completely destroyed. The hardest thing is to explain it to my youngest son. I can’t hold back the tears,” he told Al Jazeera.

Sunday evening, Indonesian army he announced they found an underwater submarine at a depth of almost 840 meters, broken into three parts. At the press conference, Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto also reported that 53 crew members had been killed.

The families of the KRI Nanggala-402 crew followed hold out hope, even though the planned oxygen supply on Saturday was depleted, and they were praying for the safe return of the crew, who had been missing for almost a week. The submarine lost contact on Wednesday in the early hours of the morning while conducting live fire torpedo drilling in the northern waters of the Indonesian island of Bali.

But upon learning that the sailors had died, family members paid tribute to the crew of the submarine accident, which was built in 1977 and entered the service of the Indonesian Navy in 1981.

‘A great man’

Portrait of Munawi and his family. Aura Aulia is on the right [Courtesy of Aura Aulia]

Aura Aulia told Al Jazeera that her father, Second Lieutenant Munawir, was a serious and upright seaman who was known for his disciplined style.

“If someone asked you to do something, they would immediately start working without saying a word,” he said.

“Even when he wasn’t working, he always wanted to do something productive like tidying up his car or motorbike or repairing a house.

“He also loved to travel and had a great adventure. He always took us on holidays all over Indonesia to places like Malang, Blitar and Madura, or we went out to eat with the family. ”

Second Lieutenant Munawir was 41 years old.

Gresilia, the wife of first sergeant Rusdiyansyah Rahman, head of electrical communications at KRI Nanggala-402, told Al Jazeera that the couple has an 18-day-old baby and were expecting their father for the first time. to return from the sea so that he could spend time with his son Muhammad Elzayn Firendra Rahman.

“He promised to come with me to get our son’s first vaccinations when he returned from sailing. But now it’s gone forever. I will tell my son that his father was a great man. “

“Even though it is the hardest test of my life, I am trying to accept it and leave everything in the hands of God. Let my husband rest quietly because he fulfilled his duty and the search team did everything they could, ”the 26-year-old said.

More than a dozen ships and planes took part in the search for the ship, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Australia and the United States are sending specialized equipment to assist Indonesian authorities.

The submarine was eventually deployed using a submarine rescue vessel sent from Singapore, which was able to obtain visual confirmation of the broken KRI Nanggala-402 parts.

A friend from Gresilia has calmed down, she and her husband Rusdiyansyah Rahman have just become the first sergeant’s parents [Reno Surya/Al Jazeera]

Recovery efforts

The Indonesian military has said it will try to “evacuate” the vessel after finding submarine debris after prayer mats and life jackets, but said the depth would complicate those efforts and require specialized equipment.

Colonel Setiawan’s mother, Ida Farida, told Al Jazeera that she was proud of her son, who was not supposed to be underwater, but decided to enter at the last minute to oversee the training exercises.

“I didn’t want him to take me first, but he died fulfilling his duty. He fulfilled his commitment to his country until the end of his life, ”he said.

The 80-year-old added that he hopes the recovery missions will continue until the crew is found.

“I hope I can recover the body of my son, who may be in any situation. We want to bury him in the family grave of Cilubajang in Sukabumi with his retired father who was a retired Air Force officer.”

On Monday, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, known as Jokowi, announced that 53 crew members would receive the Bintang Jalasena or Navy Meritorious Service Star, usually for providing service beyond the duty to members of the Indonesian Navy.

He added that all the children of the crew would fund their education up to the bachelor’s level in the university.

Colonel Setiawan’s wife Winny says her heart is broken as a result of the loss of her husband, who was the commander of the Nanggala-402 MRI. [Ivan Darski/Al Jazeera]

Sheva Naufal Zidane, the 18-year-old son of Colonel Setiawan, told Al Jazeera that he intends to follow in his father’s footsteps despite the tragedy that befell KRI Nanggala-402.

“My father was from the family. I thought she was a role model and she set me such a good example, ”she said.

“Ever since I was little, I’ve been closest to my father. He always told me stories of being in the Navy. My hope is that I too can join the Army. I’m going to take the entrance test next year, and I hope I pass it and make my father feel proud. “



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