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The Titanic-bound tourist submarine that disappeared in the waters of Newfoundland on Sunday morning has only 96 hours of life support left, US Coast Guard officials said as the search continued past its first day.
The Coast Guard said on Monday that the submarine’s operator, OceanGate Expeditions, informed them that the missing vessel can sustain its five occupants for about four days before it runs out of oxygen.
“We’re doing everything we can do to locate the submersible and rescue those on board,” Rear Admiral John Mauger told reporters.
“In terms of the hours, we understood that was 96 hours of emergency capability from the operator, and so we anticipate that there’s somewhere between 70 to the full 96 hours available at this point.”
Mauger, First District Commander and leader of the search and rescue mission, said the US was coordinating with Canada on the operation.
OceanGate Expeditions, a private company that provides tours for the Titanic wreckage site for as much as $250,000, confirmed that their Titan submarine had gone missing with crew members aboard about 370 miles off the coast of Newfoundland.
Mauger said the location of the Titanic, about 12,500 feet at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, has proven a difficult search area.
Multiple US and Canadian ships and airplanes have been deployed to the area in search of the submarine in case it successfully returned from the depths but lacks the means of communication with its partnering surface boat.
An additional plane from the New York Coast Guard is preparing to be deployed to join the search Monday evening, officials said.
Tourist submersible exploring Titanic wreckage disappears in Atlantic Ocean
What we know
A submersible on a pricey tourist expedition to the Titanic shipwreck in the Atlantic Ocean has vanished with likely only four days’ worth of oxygen. The US Coast Guard said the small submarine began its journey underwater with five passengers Sunday morning, and the Canadian research vessel that it was working with lost contact with the crew about an hour and 45 minutes into the dive.
It was later found that a top-secret team with the US Navy detected the implosion of the Titan submersible on Sunday, but did not stop search efforts due because the evidence was “not definitive” and a decision was made to “make every effort to save the lives on board.”
Who was on board?
The family of world explorer Hamish Harding confirmed on Facebook that he was among the five traveling in the missing submarine. Harding, a British businessman who previously paid for a space ride aboard the Blue Origin rocket last year, shared a photo of himself on Sunday signing a banner for OceanGate’s latest voyage to the shipwreck.
Also onboard were Pakistani energy and tech mogul Shanzada Dawood and his son Sulaiman, 19; famed French diver and Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and OceanGate founder and CEO Stockton Rush.
What’s next?
“We’re doing everything we can do to locate the submersible and rescue those on board,” Rear Adm. John Mauger told reporters. “In terms of the hours, we understood that was 96 hours of emergency capability from the operator.
Coast Guard officials said they are currently focusing all their efforts on locating the sub first before deploying any vessel capable of reaching as far below as 12,500 feet where the Titanic wreck is located.
Mauger, first district commander and leader of the search-and-rescue mission, said the US was coordinating with Canada on the operation.
The debris recovered from the US Coast Guard’s Titan submersible search site early Thursday included “a landing frame and a rear cover from the submersible.”
After search efforts to recover the stranded passengers proved futile, and bits of debris from the submersible were found, it was decided that the sub imploded, which correlated with an anomaly picked up by the US Navy in the same area.
The Coast Guard later reported that all 5 passengers were confirmed dead, and rescue efforts were halted.
Mauger added that the Canadian Coast Guard has sent out multiple sonar buoys capable of detecting the submarine even at the bottom of the ocean.
“Right now we’re focused on locating the vessel,” Mauger said, adding that commercial ships and subs have joined the search.
“Our thoughts are with the families and the crew members aboard the submersible.”
The US Coast Guard confirmed that the research vessel Polar Prince had lost contact with Titan after about one hour and 45 minutes after it embarked below the seas in search of the Titanic.
The company noted that because of its location in the middle of the Atlantic, they rely on Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites for its communications at sea.
While officials declined to comment on the identity of the passengers, the family of World-renowned explorer Hamish Harding confirmed he was among those inside the sub when it disappeared.
The 58-year-old British millionaire had been boasting about the opportunity to see the Titanic in the days leading up to the voyage.
Harding also said that among those joining him on the mission was veteran Frenchy Navy diver P.H. Nargeolet, who has led previous expeditions to the Titanic.
It remains unclear if Nargeolet is among those missing.
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