London:
A multinational search team crisscrossed the sea and skies above the century-old wreck of the Titanic for a fifth day today, trying to find a tourist submersible that went missing with five people aboard.
Time is crucial for the missing crew, if they are still alive. The Titan, which started with about 96 hours of air in case of an emergency, is estimated to have less than 3 hours left. Its crew is also believed to have limited rations on board, according to US Coast Guard.
The 21-foot (6.5-meter) tourist craft lost communication with its mothership less than two hours into its trip to see the remains of the Titanic, which sits more than four kilometres below the surface of the North Atlantic.
Here are the LIVE updates on the search for the missing Titanic sub:
In their last press briefing, the US Coast Guard said that the search for the missing sub is still on. They also said that more Navy personnel and equipment are scheduled to arrive at the site later today.
@CoastGuardCAN Ann Harvey and Motor Vessel Horizon Arctic (ROV) have arrived on scene and are conducting search patterns in search of submersible, Titan. #Titanicpic.twitter.com/sg96QCaMzD
– USCGNortheast (@USCGNortheast) June 22, 2023
Rescuers are racing against time to find the missing Titanic sub, which went off radar on Sunday.
The passengers in the sub include British billionaire and adventurer Hamish Harding, 58, and Pakistani-born business magnate Shahzada Dawood, 48, with his 19-year-old son Suleman, who are both British citizens.
Stockton Rush, founder of the company that owns the missing submersible craft that was on its way to view the Titanic wreckage, has said safety is “pure waste.”
An additional Canadian vessel carrying medical staff and a decompression chamber was en route to the area early Thursday, with Canadian media reporting it was not expected to arrive before midday.