(Boston) The United States and Canadian Coast Guards continue the search on Tuesday for a missing tourist submersible with five passengers on board, including a billionaire and explorers, who have gone to visit the wreck of the titanic off North America.
WHAT THERE IS TO KNOW
- Operated by OceanGate Expeditions, the 6.5 meter submersible has begun its descent towards the wreck of the titanic Sunday, but lost contact with the surface less than two hours later;
- The named submersible Titan displays passenger seats at US$250,000;
- Five people are on board and the machine only has oxygen for 70 hours;
- British businessmen Hamish Harding and Pakistani Shahzada Dawood, the latter accompanied by his son Suleman, as well as the French specialist in titanicPaul-Henry Nargeolet, are part of the expedition;
- The Titanic lies 650 kilometers off Newfoundland, some 4,000 meters underwater;
- Rear Admiral John Mauger, of the United States Coast Guard, specifies that the searches, on the surface and under water, relate to an area “about 1450 km east of Cape Cod, at a depth of about 4000 meters “.
On board, a prominent Pakistani businessman, Shahzada Dawood, vice president of the Engro conglomerate, and his son Suleman, their family said in a statement.
For his part, British explorer Hamish Harding, 58, said he was proud on Sunday in an Instagram post to participate in the expedition organized by the company OceanGate Expeditions.
PHOTO VIA AGENCY FRANCE-PRESSE
Hamish Harding
The French specialist in titanicoceanographer Paul-Henry Nargeolet, was also part of the expedition, according to the publication by Hamish Harding, CEO of Action Aviation, a private jet sales company based in Dubai.
“The sub has been successfully launched and Hamish is currently diving,” the company tweeted on Sunday.
But authorities were warned on Sunday by the craft’s operator, OceanGate Expeditions, that the submarine was missing.
“At this time, contact has been lost with their submersible and the information available is limited,” according to the Dawood family statement. “We are very grateful for the concern shown by our colleagues and friends and would like to ask everyone to pray that they are safe.”
The US Coast Guard launched two planes to survey the search area in the North Atlantic and their Canadian counterparts dispatched a plane and a ship.
Time is now a critical factor, with a 96-hour window to find the submarine’s passengers.
Rear Admiral John Mauger of the US Coast Guard told a press conference in Boston on Monday that the submersible still had oxygen supplies of 70 hours or more.
“We are working very, very hard” to find him, he said. The research, on the surface and under water, concerns an area “about 1450 km east of Cape Cod, at a depth of about 4000 m”.
“It’s a remote region and it’s complicated to conduct research in such an area,” added John Mauger.
Aerial searches, unsuccessful throughout the day, have been suspended for the night, the US Coast Guard tweeted around 9 p.m. Monday. Vessel Polar Princefrom which the submersible departed, and a National Guard unit continue to conduct surface searches into the evening, they added.
“Legendary Explorers”
“The submarine’s crew is made up of some legendary explorers, some of whom have completed more than 30 dives on the RMS Titanic since the 1980s, “said Mr. Hamish on his Instagram account on Saturday, announcing his participation in the trip.
Rear Admiral Mauger did not want to give information on the people on board “out of respect for the families”, contenting himself with saying that according to the operator, it was a pilot and four other people.
PHOTO STEVEN SENNE, ASSOCIATED PRESS
John Mauger
Contacted by AFP, Action Aviation declined to comment.
A spokesperson for OceanGate Expeditions told AFP in a statement on Monday evening that “for some time we have been unable to establish communications with one of our underwater exploration vehicles currently visiting the wreck site of the titanic “.
The company emphasizes “exploring and mobilizing all options to bring the crew back safely”.
On its site, it explains that a mission visiting the titanic was “in progress”, from June 12 to 20, with tickets at $250,000 each. The company’s only device capable of diving to the depths of the Titanic is the Titan, “a submersible designed to take five people to depths of 4000 meters”, with a range of 96 hours for a crew of five.
Two theories
Without having studied the craft itself, Alistair Greig, professor of marine engineering at University College London, raised two possible theories based on images of the device published by the press.
He reckons that if he had a problem with the electricity or communications, he could have been brought to the surface, floating “waiting to be found”.
“Another scenario is that the hull has been compromised,” and there has been a leak. “Then the prognosis is not good,” he added.
And “very few vessels can go” to the depth it might have sunk, he said.
Leaving Southampton on April 10, 1912 to reach New York, the titanic, the largest liner in the world at the time of its launch, sank after hitting an iceberg five days later. Of the 2,224 passengers and crew, nearly 1,500 perished.
The wreck was discovered in 1985 650 kilometers off the Canadian coast, at a depth of 4000 meters in the international waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Since then, treasure seekers and tourists have been visiting it.