A massive search is underway for the Titan submersible with five people on board that went missing during a trip to view the wreckage of the Titanic.
Oxygen supplies, according to calculations, could have run out on the submersible. According to the US Coast Guard, all the oxygen should have gone out at 10:30 GMT.
The search for the submersible covers nearly 26,000 square kilometers. About 10 surface vessels, deep-sea vehicles and aircraft from the United States, Canada, Great Britain and France are participating in it.
Earlier, there were reports that rescuers heard knocking sounds in the search area.
On Tuesday, the US Navy deployed a Flyaway Deep Ocean Salvage System (FADOSS) which is capable of lifting up to 60,000lbs to the search area, and on Wednesday, the US-based group Explorers Club announced that they were working for permits to use remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) in the search area capable of reaching depths of 6,000 meters, or roughly 20,000 feet.
Hamish Harding, a billionaire and adventure traveler, Shahzada Dawood, vice chairman of Pakistan’s Engro corporation, and his son Suleman, have been confirmed to be on board the submersible. Media reported that the two other passengers are the CEO of OceanGate himself, Stockton Rush, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet, a French maritime expert who took part in over 35 dives to the Titanic wreck site.
The Titan submersible, owned by the American company OceanGate Expeditions, went missing while descending to the wreck of the Titanic on June 18. OceanGate Expeditions advertised seven-day dive trips to the Titanic at prices starting at $250,000. Titan tourists signed a document before the dive warning that the adventure could result in injury or death.