U.S. and Canadian rescue teams were searching Monday for a five-person submersible used to take groups including tourists to view the wreckage site of the Titanic after the submarine vanished deep in the Atlantic Ocean.
The U.S. Coast Guard in Boston is leading the search for the missing watercraft, which the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, said was reported overdue around 9:13 p.m. Sunday about 435 miles south of St. John’s, Newfoundland.
“A Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina, C-130 Hercules aircraft, as well as a Canadian P8 aircraft equipped with underwater sonar capability, are currently searching for the missing submersible,” the Coast Guard said in a statement announcing a news conference at 4:30 p.m. ET
OceanGate Expeditions, a Washington-based deep-sea exploration company, confirmed in a statement to the BBC that it owned the submersible − a vessel in the submarine family but smaller and less self-sufficient than the classic military sub − and a crew was on board. The BBC reported the craft is probably OceanGate’s Titan submersible, which has room for five people and typically a four-day supply of oxygen.
“We are deeply thankful for the extensive assistance we have received from several government agencies and deep sea companies in our efforts to reestablish contact with the submersible,” the company said in a statement. “We are working toward the safe return of the crewmembers.”
See the Titanic in whole new way:Full-sized, 3D digital scan shows scale of wreckage site
Two-thirds of oxygen capacity left; British tourist on board
OceanGate adviser David Concannon told The Associated Press the company lost contact with the submersible Sunday morning. By Monday afternoon it still had two-thirds of its 96-hour oxygen supply, he said via e-mail.
“Now 32 hours since sub left surface,” said Concannon, who said he had to cancel going on the dive because of a matter regarding another client. He said officials are rushing to get to the site a remotely operated vehicle that can reach a depth of 20,000 feet. The Titanic wreckage is believe to lie 12,500 feet deep.
Action Aviation confirmed that its company chairman, British businessman Hamish Harding, was one of the tourists on board. The company’s managing director, Mark Butler, told the AP that the crew set out on Friday.
“Every attempt is being made for a rescue mission,” Butler said. “There is still plenty of time to facilitate a rescue mission. There is equipment on board for survival in this event. We’re all hoping and praying he comes back safe and sound.”
Titanic facts: When did it sink? How many people died?
On April 14, 1912, the Titanic collided with an iceberg in the North Atlantic on its maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City. On April 15, at about 2:20 a.m., the ship sank.
More than 1,500 people died on the Titanic. Of the roughly 2,200 people aboard the ship, only 706 survived.
The majority of the people killed were members of the crew and third-class passengers. There were 710 deaths in the third class and 700 deaths among the crew.
How many people died on the Titanic?:Facts about the death toll and the survivors
Tourists added for expeditions
In 2021, OceanGate Expeditions began what it expected to become an annual voyage to the wreckage. The company had said it would include about 40 paying tourists to the team of archaeologists and marine biologists on the trips. The tourists would be allowed to take turns operating the sonar equipment on the five-person submersible.
The initial group of tourists spent $100,000 to $150,000 apiece.
Contributing: The Associated Press
