The US Coast Guard has confirmed that the five people on board a submersible, named Titan, which is missing close to the wreck of the Titanic have roughly 40 hours of breathable air left. Captain Jamie Frederick provided an update on Tuesday and stated that the search for the vessel had not yet produced any results. An ROV (remotely operated underwater vehicle) has been deployed to the area and is equipped with a camera. A unified command has been established, which consists of the United States Coast Guard, the United States Navy, Canadian Armed Forces and Coast Guard, and the parent company of Titan, Ocean Gate Expeditions. The combination of surface and subsurface searches has made the operation very complex. Since Sunday, the combined search efforts have covered an area of 7,600 square miles.
Complex Search Operation
The submersible, Titan, is sealed with bolts from the outside, which means the occupants cannot escape without assistance, even if it surfaces. Captain David Marquet, a retired US Navy submarine commander, likened the search for the Titan to searching for a football pitch with a magnifying glass. Captain Marquet said that it was concerning that the submersible had not been found yet and that the tone of the Tuesday briefing suggested that the chances of finding the vessel were slim. A Canadian P-3 aircraft is currently conducting a six-hour search, and several C-130 aircraft and another P-3 are scheduled to fly on Tuesday afternoon and evening.
It is understood that the Titan had a 96-hour oxygen supply in case of emergencies. The five people on board are British billionaire Hamish Harding, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, and his son Suleman, chief executive and founder of OceanGate Expeditions, Stockton Rush, and French submersible pilot Paul-Henri Nargeolet. Mr. Dawood is a long-time supporter of the Prince’s Trust International and the British Asian Trust.
The submersible went missing on Sunday with five people on board, and the Coast Guard and other search and rescue teams have swarmed a remote area in the Atlantic in search of the vessel. Rescuers have expanded their search into deeper waters. The major search and rescue operation is taking place some 435 miles south of Newfoundland, Canada. The Canadian research icebreaker Polar Prince, which was supporting the Titan, reportedly lost contact with the vessel about an hour and 45 minutes after it submerged. The wreckage of the Titanic, which sank in 1912 after hitting an iceberg, lies at a depth of about 12,500 feet (3,810 meters), and the Titan submersible usually takes two hours to descend to the wreck.
The King has been asked to be kept fully up to date on the situation regarding the Titan and has expressed his thoughts and prayers for the Dawood family and all those involved in this incident and the attempted recovery operation. Mr. Dawood is married and has two children. He is the vice-chairman of Pakistan’s Engro Corporation and, along with his son Suleman, who is currently studying at university, is a British citizen.
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