An early morning view of St. John’s, Newfoundland as search for Titanic sub enters final hours
The Titan submersible, operated by OceanGate Expeditions to explore the wreckage of the sunken SS Titanic off the coast of Newfoundland, dives in an undated photograph. OceanGate Expeditions/Handout via REUTERS
Image: Reuters
The Titan submersible, operated by OceanGate Expeditions to explore the wreckage of the sunken SS Titanic off the coast of Newfoundland, dives in an undated photograph. OceanGate Expeditions/Handout via REUTERS
The search for a missing submersible entered a crucial phase early Thursday morning with just hours to go before its air supply was expected to run out.
The minivan-sized submersible Titan, operated by US-based OceanGate Expeditions, was carrying a five-member crew to view the 1912 wreckage of the Titanic, located about 370 miles (595 km) off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.
It lost contact with its support ship, the Polar Prince, on Sunday near the end of what should have been a two-hour dive to the wreck.
The Titan set off from St. John’s harbor, in Newfoundland, Canada, with 96 hours of air, according to the company, so its oxygen tanks would likely be depleted some time on Thursday morning, although precisely when depends on factors such as whether the craft still has power and how calm those on board are, experts say, and assumes the craft is still intact.
Rescue teams and relatives and friends of the Titan’s five occupants took hope when the US Coast Guard said on Wednesday that Canadian search planes had recorded undersea noises using sonar buoys earlier that day and on Tuesday.
The Coast Guard said remote-controlled underwater search vehicles directed to where the noises were detected had not yielded results. Officials said the sounds might not have originated from the Titan.
The Titan was carrying its pilot and four others on a deep-sea excursion to the shipwreck, capping a tourist adventure for which OceanGate charges $250,000 per person.
The passengers included British billionaire and adventurer Hamish Harding, 58, and Pakistani-born business magnate Shahzada Dawood, 48, with his 19-year-old son Suleman, who are both British citizens.
