Titanic Submarine Goes Missing; Rescue Launched
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
LONDON/BOSTON (Worthy News) – A submersible used to take tourists to view the wreck of the doomed Titanic ship has gone missing in the Atlantic Ocean, sparking a search and rescue mission, officials say.
The Boston Coastguard said on Monday that an operation was underway to find the vessel which had five people on board.
The submersible was reported overdue Sunday night about 435 miles (700 kilometres) south of St. John’s, Newfoundland, according to Canada’s Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Lieutenant Commander Len Hickey said a Canadian Coast Guard vessel and military aircraft were assisting the search effort, which was being led by the U.S. Coast Guard in Boston.
Rear Admiral John Mauger, a commander for the U.S. Coast Guard, said additional resources would arrive in the coming days.
“It is a remote area — and it is a challenge to conduct a search in that remote area,” he added. “But we are deploying all available assets to make sure we can locate the craft and rescue the people on board.”
According to the Coast Guard, the craft submerged Sunday morning, and its support vessel lost contact with it about an hour and 45 minutes later. The submersible was operated by OceanGate Expeditions.
96-HOUR OXYGEN
David Concannon, an adviser to OceanGate, said the submersible had a 96-hour oxygen supply starting at roughly 6 a.m. Sunday.
Small submersibles take paying tourists and experts to view the Titanic wreck at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, 370 miles (595 kilometers) off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.
Multi-day tours to the famous shipwreck, 3,800 meters (12,500 feet) down at the bottom of the Atlantic, can cost up to $250,000. The descent and ascend can reportedly take eight hours.
The Titanic has been extensively explored since the wreck was first discovered in 1985.
The passenger liner, once the largest ship of its time, hit an iceberg on a maiden voyage from Southampton to New York in 1912.
Of the 2,200 passengers and crew on board, more than 1,500 died, according to historical records.
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