British billionaire trapped inside missing Titanic tourist submarine; 70-96 hrs of oxygen left

A submersible vessel designed for tourists to visit the Titanic wreckage, went missing on Monday with five people on board, including a billionaire tourist from UK.

Authorities said that the 21-foot (6.5-meter) vessel, managed by OceanGate Expeditions, commenced its descent on Sunday morning and subsequently lost communication with the surface within a span of less than two hours.

Among the individuals aboard the craft is British billionaire Hamish Harding, who posted on social media regarding his participation in the expedition.

The US Coast Guard has initiated an extensive search around 900 miles east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, while the Canadian Coast Guard has also taken action by deploying fixed-wing aircraft and dispatching a ship to the designated search area.

“It is a challenge to conduct a search in that remote area, but we are deploying all available assets to make sure that we can locate the craft and rescue the people on board,” US Coast Guard rear Admiral John Mauger told reporters in Boston, where he was overseeing the operation.

The vessel has a range of 96 hours of oxygen for a crew of five. Mauger believes that as off Monday, the vessel still has 70 or more hours of remaining oxygen.

As per the company, the submersible named Titan, could dive upto a maximum depth of 4,000 meters.

As reported by various media outlets including CBS News, OceanGate Expeditions in a statement said, that their primary concern is the well-being of the crew-members inside the submersible and their families.

Hamish Harding, a 58-year-old aviator, space tourist, and chairman of Dubai-based Action Aviation, on Sunday, shared his excitement on Instagram account for joining the OceanGate Expedition as a mission specialist on the submersible for the RMS TITANIC Mission.

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He expressed pride in the announcement and mentioned the plan for a dive the following day, made possible by a favorable weather window.

“A weather window has just opened up and we are going to attempt a dive tomorrow,” Harding said.

Action Aviation also tweeted on Sunday, confirming the successful launch of the submersible and the ongoing dive with Harding. They included several photographs of Harding and the mission staff on the ocean surface.

The US Coast Guard has also dispatched two C-120 planes to survey the surface.

On the other hand, Chief Petty Officer Robert Simpson told AFP that Canada has also deployed its aircraft, which uses sonar technology with Buoys to locate objects beneath the water surface.

He said, "After the expected time of return for the submersible the OceanGate ship and conducted an initial search but were unable to find anything or any sign of the submarine or if they had contacted the Coast Guard."

OceanGate also said in its statement that it was deeply thankful for the extensive assistance they have received from several government agencies and deep-sea companies in rescue efforts to reestablish contact with the submersible.

In 1912, its inaugural journey from England to New York, the RMS Titanic collided with an iceberg and tragically sank, resulting in the loss of over 1,500 lives among the 2,224 passengers and crew on board.

The remains of the ship are located approximately 400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, resting at a depth of 13,000 feet below the surface.

Discovered in 1985, the wreckage continues to captivate the interest of maritime enthusiasts and serves as an attraction for underwater tourists. The Titanic's fragmented remnants remain a subject of intrigue and exploration for experts in the field.

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