Rescue teams from several countries were battling against time on Friday to find a missing Indonesian Navy submarine lost in the Bali Sea with 53 crew members, which would be rapidly running out of oxygen if not already crushed by water pressure.

Search helicopters and more navy ships left Bali and a naval base in Java at first light heading to the area where contact was lost with the 44-year-old KRI Nanggala-402 on Wednesday as it prepared to conduct a torpedo drill.

"The main priority is the safety of the 53 crew members," President Joko Widodo said late on Thursday.