A submarine that brings tourists far beneath the Atlantic Ocean’s surface to view the remaining Titanic wreckage has gone missing, prompting an urgent search and rescue operation, officials said Monday.
OceanGate Expeditions, the company behind the expedition, lost touch with the submersible early Sunday, according to an advisor. The sub, which can fit up to five people, was equipped with a 96-hour oxygen supply, the OceanGate advisor said.
The submarine was about 435 miles south of St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, when it was reported overdue Sunday night, Canadian rescue officials said.
“We are deeply thankful for the extensive assistance we have received from several government agencies and deep sea companies in our efforts to reestablish contact with the submersible,” OceanGate said Monday. “We are working toward the safe return of the crewmembers.”
OceanGate began offering annual tourist expeditions to the Titanic wreck site in 2021, with passengers typically paying upwards of $100,000.
Hamish Harding, a British explorer and the chairman of Action Aviation, was among the passengers on the missing submersible, his company said.
“Every attempt is being made for a rescue mission. There is still plenty of time to facilitate a rescue mission, there is equipment on board for survival in this event,” Mark Butler, Action Aviation’s managing director, told The Associated Press. “We’re all hoping and praying he comes back safe and sound.”
Harding had announced Saturday that he joined OceanGate as a “mission specialist” for this year’s Titanic expedition.
“Due to the worst winter in Newfoundland in 40 years, this mission is likely to be the first and only manned mission to the Titanic in 2023,” Harding wrote in the Facebook announcement. “A weather window has just opened up and we are going to attempt a dive tomorrow. We started steaming from St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada yesterday and are planning to start dive operations around 4am tomorrow morning. Until then we have a lot of preparations and briefings to do.”
OceanGate tweeted multiple times this month that it was relying on Starlink — engineered by Elon Musk’s aerospace company SpaceX — to provide communications and internet connection for the expedition.
The Titanic sunk in the North Atlantic Ocean on April 15, 1912, after the 883-foot ship hit an iceberg, killing more than 1,500 people. Its sunken remains — located about 400 miles off the Newfoundland coast — have since deteriorated due to deep-sea currents and oceanic bacteria that eat metal.