A search is still ongoing, according to OceanGate Expeditions, for one of its submersibles that got lost in the Atlantic Ocean.
A search and rescue effort is underway to find a missing submersible with five people who lost contact near the Titanic wreck.
According to the company, one of OceanGate Expeditions’ submersibles reportedly disappeared in the Atlantic Ocean while ferrying visitors to the well-known wreck.
The submersible disappeared on Sunday in the Atlantic, 435 miles south of the Canadian province of Newfoundland.
The Titan joined an expedition featuring The Canadian Coast Guard originally operated the Polar Prince, an icebreaker that OceanGate hired.
The Titan, which also carried the submersible vessel, was planned to undertake numerous dives at the site of the disaster in the North Atlantic.
Titan has a 96-hour supply of oxygen on hand, according to OceanGate, thus, there are currently just around two days of “life support” left.
The Titan is a small submersible operated by OceanGate, a US-based company that offers crewed submersibles for business, research, and exploration.
An eight-day trip with dives to the wreck costs $250,000 (£195,000) in tickets.
The manufacturer claims the Titan can dive 13,120 feet “with a comfortable safety margin.”
The Titanic wreck, which is situated in an Atlantic trench at a height of 12,500 feet, was reached by the ship in about two hours.
Every 15 minutes, the ship, which weighs around 23,000 pounds (10,432 kilograms), pings a message back to those on land to let them know it is safe.
But now that the pings have stopped, Sky News is aware.
In a court document dated May 2021, OceanGate said that the Titan had an “unparalleled safety feature” that continuously assessed the hull’s integrity.
According to the company, Titan had made more than 50 test dives at the time of the application, including one to a depth equivalent to that of the Titanic.
In a court document submitted in November, OceanGate claimed that during a trip in 2022, the submersible developed a battery issue and had to be physically connected to its lifting platform.
What about the rescue effort?
Despite the presence of US and Canadian ships and aircraft, the operation is very challenging because of its remoteness and depth.
Whether the Titan is underwater or surfaced but lost contact is likewise uncertain.
According to US Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger, it is a tough location to search because of its remoteness.
The message said, “We are using our resources to locate the craft and save all on board.”
The Polar Prince is being dispatched to locate the submersible’s launch spot. A Canadian Boeing P-8 Poseidon surveillance plane and two Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft also performed overflights.
The statement from OceanGate Expeditions stated that it was “mobilizing all options” to save all on board.
Sonar equipment had detected thumping sounds every 30 minutes on Tuesday, according to a report released on Wednesday by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
More sonar equipment was deployed four hours later, but the hammering persisted, according to the report.
In response to the reports of banging, remote underwater vehicles were moved, according to the US Coast Guard, but the searches have not yet produced any results.
