Washington, the 20th of June: According to a media report that cited a top official with the United States Coast Guard, a tourist submarine that went missing on June 18 while diving to the wreckage of the Titanic in the Atlantic Ocean with five people on board has only about 70 hours of oxygen left, and a massive search and rescue operation is currently underway. This information was cited from a top official with the Coast Guard.
According to the BBC, on Monday, while speaking to the media, Rear Adm. John Mauger of the United States Coast Guard said: “We anticipate there is somewhere between 70 and the full 96 hours available at this point.”
In addition, he said that there were two planes, a submarine, and sonar buoys participating in the search for the vessel. However, he also mentioned that the location where the search was taking place was “remote,” which made operations challenging.
Rear Adm. Mauger said that the rescue crews were “taking this personally” and were doing all they could to get everybody on board “home safe.”
It is thought that the vessel that has gone missing is the truck-sized submersible known as the Titan that belongs to the tour company OceanGate. The Titan has a capacity for five passengers and typically dives with a supply of oxygen that will last for four days in an emergency.
The price of admission is $250,000 per person for an eight-day vacation that includes dives to the wreck at a depth of 3,800 metres.
On June 18, around one hour and 45 minutes into its dive, communication with the submarine was lost, as reported by the United States Coast Guard.
According to a report by the BBC, OceanGate issued a statement on Monday in which it claimed their “entire focus” was on the crewmembers in the submersible and their families.
“We are deeply thankful for the extensive assistance we have received from several government agencies and deep sea companies in our efforts to re-establish contact with the submersible,” the statement said. “Our efforts to re-establish contact with the submersible have been supported by a broad range of organisations.”
Although the Titanic’s ruin is located around 700 kilometres south of St. John’s, Newfoundland, the rescue operation is being coordinated from Boston, Massachusetts.
According to members of Hamish Harding’s family, the 58-year-old British wealthy businessman and adventurer is among those who went missing aboard the submarine.
On social media over the weekend, Harding said that he was “proud to finally announce” that he would be aboard the mission to the wreck of the Titanic — but he added that because of the “worst winter in Newfoundland in 40 years,” this mission is likely to be the first and only manned mission to the Titanic in 2023.
Later, he wrote, “A weather window has just opened up, and we are going to attempt a dive tomorrow (June 18).”
