A missing Indonesian submarine has been found broken apart on the sea floor off Bali, the military said on Sunday.
It confirmed that all 53 sailors on board were dead.
“We received underwater pictures that are confirmed as the parts of the submarine, including its rear vertical rudder, anchors, outer pressure body, embossed dive rudder and other ship parts,” military chief Hadi Tjahjanto told reporters in Bali.
"With this authentic evidence, we can declare that KRI Nanggala 402 has sunk and all the crew members are dead," he said.
Navy Chief of Staff Yudo Margono said the KRI Nanggala 402 was broken into three pieces.
The authorities said they used a submarine rescue vehicle supplied by Singapore to get a visual confirmation.
They received signals early on Sunday morning, from the location at a depth of more than 800 metres.
The military said more debris from the vessel was discovered on Sunday, including an anchor and safety suits worn by crew members.
On Saturday, the navy said items from inside the vessel had been retrieved.
The submarine disappeared on April 21 during live torpedo training exercises off Bali, triggering a frantic search by warships, aircraft and hundreds of military personnel.
President Joko Widodo described the submarine's crew as Indonesia'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 official explanation for the accident, but said that the submarine may have suffered a power blackout that left its crew unable to resurface.
Wisnu Wardhana, a maritime expert at Indonesia's Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology, said the effects of pressure would have been catastrophic.
"Submarine hulls are pressurised... but when they're breached then water would come flooding inside. Can you imagine if water with that kind of pressure hits people?"
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A military officer puts up on the wall the pictures of the crew members of the missing Indonesian Navy submarine KRI Nanggala. EPA -
A naval officer shows parts of the torpedo system found in the search operation for the Navy's KRI Nanggala (402) submarine that went missing on April 21, at a press conference in Denpasar. AFP -
Indonesian Military chief Hadi Tjahjanto, center, talks to media as they show debris found in the waters during a search operation for the Indonesian Navy submarine KRI Nanggala at Ngurah Rai Military Air Base in Bali, Indonesia. AP Photo -
Debris believed to be from a missing Indonesian Navy submarine KRI Nanggala are displayed during a press conference at a command in Ngurah Rai Airport in Bali. EPA -
Members of Indonesian Navy's maritime patrol aircraft of 800 Air Squadron of the 2nd Air Wing of Naval Aviation Center (PUSPENERBAL) use binoculars during a search mission for KRI Nanggala. EPA -
Indonesian Navy personnel are seen on the submarine KRI Nanggala-402 as they arrive in Surabaya, East Java province, Indonesia on February 6, 2012. M Risyal Hidayat/Antara Foto via Reuters -
A military officer looks at the pictures of crew members of the missing Indonesian Navy submarine KRI Nanggala. EPA -
Military officers stand in front of a map of the search area for the missing Indonesian Navy submarine KRI Nanggala. EPA -
Berda Asmara shows a wedding photo with her sailor husband Mes Guntur Ari Prasetyo at their home in Surabaya. AFP -
Berda Asmara (L) and family members gather to wait for news of her sailor husband Mes Guntur Ari Prasetyo at their home in Surabaya. AFP -
A military officer puts up on the wall the pictures of the crew members of the missing Indonesian Navy submarine KRI Nanggala. EPA -
Members of the Royal Malaysian Navy and crew prepare to board a ship to join the search mission of the missing Indonesia's submarine KRI Nanggala. EPA -
Officers prepare a helicopter before taking part in the search operation for the missing Indonesian Navy submarine KRI Nanggala. EPA -
Indonesian Navy ship KRI Singa sails to take part in the search for submarine KRI Nanggala that went missing while participating in a training exercise on Wednesday. AP Photo -
An aerial photo shows Indonesian Navy submarine KRI Alugoro sailing on a search mission for KRI Nanggala. EPA -
AN Indonesian Navy hospital ship during a search for submarine KRI Nanggala. AP Photo -
A National Search and Rescue Agency rescue ship sails to join the search for submarine KRI Nanggala. AP Photo -
The MV Mega Bakti submarine rescue ship departs from Sepanggar navy base to join the search mission of the missing Indonesia's submarine KRI Nanggala in Malaysia. . EPA
Retired French Admiral Jean-Louis Vichot earlier told AFP that a submarine's steel shell would break "like a folding accordion" when it hits depths way beyond its limits.
On Sunday, the search team focused on pinpointing the vessel's exact location.
The authorities have warned that any salvage operation would be risky and difficult in the deep waters.
Singapore's MV Swift Rescue, a submarine rescue vessel, had arrived to aid in the recovery effort, the navy said on Sunday.
Neighbouring Malaysia, the US, India and Australia, were among the nations helping in the search.
Search vessels, reconnaissance aircraft and submarine rescue ships scoured a zone of about 34 square kilometres.
So far, authorities have not commented on questions about whether the decades-old vessel was overloaded, but they have said that the German-built submarine, delivered to Indonesia in 1981, was seaworthy.
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 said.
The disaster was among a string of fatal submarine accidents over the past few decades.
Among the worst was the sinking in 2000 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 sailors 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.
