New Delhi: Authorities are expanding the search into deeper waters to locate the missing submarine that went off the radar off the coast of southeastern Canada while taking tourists to explore the wreckage of the Titanic, Rear Adm John Mauger, commander of the First Coast Guard District told CNN.
Speaking to CNN, Mauger said, “As we continue on with this search… we’ve been working through the night with a broad group of partners to bring all capabilities to bear looking on both the surface and now expanding to a subsurface in the area.”
As per the US Coast Guard, one pilot and four passengers were on board the submersible that could be submerged for 96 hours, but it was unclear whether it was still underwater or had surfaced and was unable to communicate.
News agency Reuters shared the video of the submarine on Twitter:
A submersible taking wealthy tourists to visit the site of the Titanic wreckage in deep waters off the coast of Canada was missing for a third day, as US and Canadian ships and planes swept a huge area trying to find the vessel https://t.co/rGcVell1AZ 1/5 pic.twitter.com/5YqCH3tJFr
— Reuters (@Reuters) June 20, 2023
The unified command team is expanding its capabilities to be able to search under the water as well, Mauger said while speaking to ABC News. “We have a commercial vessel that’s on scene now, that has remote operated vehicles, that will give us the ability to search under the water as well,” he said.
He added, “Crews have been working “around the clock” to locate the submersible since it lost contact with its operator on Sunday morning, he said. The team is also using a Canadian aircraft which has been dropping sonar buoys into the water to listen out for any sounds the submersible may be emitting.”
Here are the top developments so far:
- Those aboard the submersible, the highlight of a tourist expedition that costs $250,000 per person, included British billionaire Hamish Harding and Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood with his son Suleman.
- The 77-year-old French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet and Stockton Rush, founder and CEO of the vessel’s U.S.-based operating company OceanGate, were also reported to be on board.
- US and Canadian ships and planes have swarmed the area about 1,450 kilometres east of Cape Cod, some dropping sonar buoys that can monitor to a depth of 13,000 feet (3,962 meters), Mauger told reporters.
- Mauger also said that it is anticipated that the submarine might have 70 hours of oxygen left, adding two aircraft, a submarine, and sonar buoys were involved in the search for the vessel.
- OceanGate Expeditions, the private company that operates the vessel said in a statement on Monday that it was “mobilising all options” to rescue those on board.
- The wreckage of the Titanic that sank in 1912 after hitting an iceberg lies at about 12,500 feet (3,810 metres). The Titan submersible usually takes two hours to descend to the wreck.
