The BBC reports that the number of passengers on board the tourist submarine which left to explore the wreck of the Titanic on Monday (June 19) is still unknown. A rescue mission has been launched.
111 years ago the titanic sank off Newfoundland, Canada. This Monday, June 19, 2023, as a tourist submarine took its passengers to 3,800 meters at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean to observe the remains of the British transatlantic liner, which sank in 1912 after hitting an iceberg, the submersible suddenly disappeared, reports the BBC. In contact with the Boston Coast Guard, the news channel says a search and rescue operation has been launched to find the missing submarine and its crew.
This information seems to be confirmed by the press release from OceanGate Expeditions, which announces that one of its submarines is missing. “We are exploring and mobilizing all options to bring the crew back safely,” the statement said. And to add: “We are completely focused on the crew members of the submersible and their families. We are working on the safe return of the crew members.”
While the number of passengers inside the missing submarine is still unknown, the private company’s website OceanGate Expeditions indicates that submersibles that usually go on an expedition for almost 8 hours carry up to 5 people: a driver, a guide and up to three passengers, who would each pay $250,000 to participate in the expedition. According to the BBC, the missing submarine is the OceanGate Titan. The size of a truck, it would carry, in addition to its five passengers, the equivalent of four days’ worth of oxygen. Enough for help to intervene? Government agencies and companies specializing in the high seas would, in any case, be on hand to find the missing craft, the exact time of which contact with it was broken is unknown.