5 tourists paid Rs 2 crore each for submarine ride to Titanic wreck site, then went missing

A submarine carrying five people to the Titanic wreck site, within the depths of the North Atlantic Ocean, has been reported missing since Sunday, June 18. The US and Canadian Coast guard are in a race against time.

What

According to the authorities, the submarine descended into the North Atlantic on Sunday morning (local time) and lost contact with its Canadian support vessel, Polar Prince, about 1 hour 45 minutes post its descent.

Oxygen concern

As per the officials, it was previously determined that the crew members on the submarine had roughly four days', or 96 hours of oxygen supply. This has become the most vital concern of the US and Canadian officials as they speed up their search and rescue operations for the missing submarine. 

Billionaire onboard

It has also come to light that British billionaire businessman and explorer Hamish Harding is reportedly among the five passengers onboard the submarine.

Other passengers

Apart from Hardings, there are other high-profile individuals on the passenger list of the missing submersible.

• The vice-chairman of Engro Corporation, which is one of Pakistan’s largest conglomerates, Shahzada Dawood, is reportedly amongst the passengers along with his son Suleman. 

• 77-year-old French explorer Paul Henri Nargeolet is another one of the five onboard the vessel. The explorer and former French Navy commander is the director of underwater research at a company that owns the rights to the Titanic wreck. 

• Finally, looks like OceanGate’s CEO, Stockton Rush, is also on the submersible. Rush holds the title of being the youngest jet transport-rated pilot in the world, which he earned in the year 1981, at the age of 19.

The submersible 

The missing vessel is reportedly the property of tour firm OceanGate’s Titan submersible which can hold a total of five people in it. The cost for a ride in this submersible is reportedly $250,000 or Rs 2.05 crore per person.

This is the same vessel that CBS journalist David Pogue used to reach the wreckage site of the Titanic.

The firm has issued a statement out to the public and media, saying that they are working to their fullest to rescue the missing passangers.

The search and rescue authorities are believed to have deployed military planes, a rescue submarine and sonar buoys in search for the vessel already, in hope of a quick rescue.

On June 19, flight tracker website Flightradar24 tweeted that one of the search planes, a US Air Force C-130, was its most tracked flight. 

Our most tracked flight right now is a US Air Force C-130 en route to assist with the search for the missing submersible on an expedition to the Titanic. https://t.co/rvPDsxeQZt pic.twitter.com/UDgbthTvY6

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) June 19, 2023

The Titanic submersible expedition

OceanGate's Titanic submersible expedition kicked off in Summer 2023, as per its official website, and is likely to go on.

• Where: Approximately 380 nautical miles south of Newfoundland
• They have 18 dives planned
• To a maximum depth of 3,800 metres (12,800 feet)

​​​​​​OceanGate, according to its website, has pulled off two Titanic expeditions so far; in 2021 and 2022. Their expeditions, OceanGate says, 'will continue to return annually to further document the Titanic and its rate of decay.'