A tourist submersible, which is used to take groups to view the wreckage site of the Titanic, has gone missing in the Atlantic Ocean, U.S. Coast Guard officials said Monday.
The U.S. Coast Guard in Boston is conducting a search and rescue mission to find the missing submersible off the coast of Newfoundland, the Coast Guard told BBC.
OceanGate Expeditions, a Washington-based deep-sea exploration company, confirmed in a statement to BBC that it owned the missing submersible and people were on board.
“We are exploring and (mobilizing) all options to bring the crew back safely,” the company told the BBC Monday. “Our entire focus is on the crewmembers in the submersible and their families.”
USA TODAY has reached out to the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Boston and OceanGate Expeditions for more information.
See the Titanic in whole new way:Full-sized, 3D digital scan shows scale of wreckage site
Titanic facts: When did it sink? How many people died?
On April 14, 1912, the Titanic collided with an iceberg on its way to New York City from Southampton, England. On April 15, at about 2:20 a.m., the ship went down in the Atlantic Ocean.
More than 1,500 people were killed on the Titanic. Of the roughly 2,200 people aboard the ship, only 706 people 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 that it would include about 40 paid 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
