TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo stated that the government would guarantee the education for the children of the 53 Indonesian Navy soldiers who were members of the sunken KRI Nanggala-402 submarine.

“The government will guarantee the education of the sons and the daughters of the KRI Nanggala-402 soldiers up to the undergraduate level,” said the President in an online press statement on Monday, April 26, 2021.

The naval submarine was declared drowned after losing contact in the northern waters of Bali last Wednesday, April 21, 2021. A number of authentic evidence showed that it sank at a depth of 838 meters and broke into three parts.

On Saturday afternoon, April 25, Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto confirmed the 53 crew onboard the 1978 German-built ship had died.

President Jokowi expressed his utmost appreciation to the TNI, the National Police (Polri), the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), the Maritime Security Agency (Bakamla), the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT), and all elements who had exerted their best efforts to find the missing submarine.

“Thank you, and I also appreciate the assistance from friendly countries in the efforts, cooperation, and hard work in the search of KRI Nanggala-402,” he said.

Read: Jokowi: KRI Nanggala-402 Submarine Crew Are Best Patriots

DEWI NURITA