At 13.08 the oxygen is expected to run out – but the desperate search continues.
A French deep-sea robot is in place and is now participating in the search for the missing Titan submersible.
– You have to be lucky, says researcher Hans Liwång, who sees the possibility of saving the five on board as small.
The search area spans an area larger than the entire Kattegat. If and when the submarine is located, the rescue operation needs to turn into a likely very complicated salvage attempt. In the area, the sea is up to 4,000 meters deep.
A French deep-sea robot, named Victor 6000, is now above the wreck of the Titanic – but it may already be too late. According to the American Coast Guard, the oxygen for the five people on board is expected to run out on Thursday at 1:08 p.m., Swedish time.
– I think they will search for another 24 hours given that they have these resources in place and then they will slowly scale back the search, when they judge that hope is completely lost, says Hans Liwång, researcher in marine systems at the Royal Institute of Technology.
“Takes a very long time”
The scientist believes that the pounding sound that is said to have been heard once every half hour seems to be exaggerated – and he sees the possibility of bringing Titan up in time as very small.
– Just searching for it without actually having any sound to go after, it will take a very long time. You have to be lucky, or should there really be a knock, he says.
Bo Rask, former head of the Swedish submarine force, agrees.
– They have tried to look for a needle in a haystack. The search area is as large as Dalarna, at a depth of 4,000 meters.
The French robot increases the probability of finding Titan, he believes.
– It will make things easier, but I want to say that it is already too late.
Nine tonnes are to be salvaged
Alongside the Victor 6000, a recovery vessel from the US Navy has also been deployed, with the ability to lift particularly heavy objects out of the sea. The missing submarine is approximately 6.5 meters long and weighs a little over nine tons.
The fleet’s vessel is said to be able to salvage objects weighing around 27 tons, but the depth is a challenge and according to experts, it is far from certain that the Titan is still intact – the slightest leak is feared to have caused the submarine to implode, i.e. crushed by the colossal water pressure.
A total of five people are on board. Paul Henry Nargeolet, Stockton Rush, Hamish Harding, Shahzada Dawood and his teenage son Suleman Dawood are missing in the North Atlantic.