Wreckage makes rescue ‘harder’
It’s a race against time to locate the tourist submarine that went missing as it explored the ruins of the Titanic in the Atlantic Ocean.
Naval experts say the historic wreckage and its remote location will make it “difficult” to recover mission the five-person Titan sub.
“It’s very worrying. It could have become entangled in the wreckage of Titanic, we don’t know yet. The wreck site is a long way from anywhere,” former Rear Admiral Chris Parry said on Sky News. “The only hope one has is that the mothership will have a standby craft that can investigate immediately what is going on.”
The Titan’s operator, OceanGate Expeditions, said in a statement: “Our entire focus is on the crew members 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 2019, the Titan became the first nonmilitary-manned submersible to take a team of four down 12,336 feet under the ocean’s surface. It has since offered trips to the Titanic’s wreckage more than 2 miles below sea level off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada — at $250,000 per ticket.
Among those who went missing on Monday morning , is British billionaire Hamish Harding, CEO of Action Aviation in Dubai.
On Saturday, he posted on Facebook announcing his plans to partake in the expedition noting that “due to 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.”
The US Coast Guard confirmed rescue efforts remains underway.