Submarine disappears on expedition to Titanic wreck

A search and rescue mission was underway Monday morning for a submarine that went missing in the North Atlantic on an expedition to explore the wreckage of the Titanic. Lt. Jordan Hart of the US Coast Guard in Boston told CBS News that the personnel were “currently on a search and rescue operation” when asked about rescue efforts off the coast of Newfoundland.

OceanGate ExpeditionsA company that deploys manned submersibles for deep-sea expeditions, confirmed in a statement that its sub was the target of the salvage operation, adding that it was “exploring and mobilizing all options to bring the crew back to safety.”

The company did not say how many people were aboard the missing ship or whether any of them were paying tourists, whom it does take as passengers on its expeditions.

“Our entire focus is on the crew members of the submersible and their families,” OceanGate said, adding that it was “deeply grateful for the extensive assistance we have received from various government agencies and deepwater companies in our efforts to restore the contact with the submersible”. .”

The US Coast Guard said in a tweet what a @USCG The C-130 crew is searching for a downed Canadian research submarine approximately 900 miles away. #CapeCodand that the Halifax Rescue Coordination Center is assisting with a P8 Poseidon aircraft, which has underwater detection capabilities.

OceanGate recently said in your website and social media reports that an expedition to the wreckage of the RMS Titanic, which lies about 400 miles southeast of the Newfoundland coast, was “underway.”

Contacted by CBS News, the Canadian Coast Guard said the rescue operation was being managed by the Boston Regional Coordination Center, and a map showing jurisdictions for the various coastal search and rescue agencies off the coast of North America shows the location of the Titanic wreck within the downtown Boston area of ​​responsibility.

Earlier this month, OceanGate said on Twitter that it was using the Starlink satellite company to help maintain communications with its Titanic expedition.

“Despite being in the middle of the North Atlantic, we have the internet connection we need to make our Titanic diving operations a success, thank you Starlink,” the tweet read. The company’s website advertises seven-night voyages to see the wreckage of the Titanic at a price of $250,000.

The company last tweeted about the Titanic expedition June 15.

On Saturday, the British businessman Hamish Harding shared on Facebook that he was among the party of the OceanGate expedition that had left St. Johns, Newfoundland, the day before, BBC news reported. “The submarine team has a pair of legendary explorers, some of whom have made more than 30 dives on the RMS Titanic since the 1980s,” Harding wrote. She said it was “likely to be the first and only crewed mission to the Titanic in 2023” due to weather conditions, and that the team planned to start diving operations around 4 a.m. Sunday.

OceanGate’s submersible, The Titan, is the only five-person submarine in the world capable of reaching the wreck of the Titanic, which lies 2.4 miles below the sea surface. David Pogue, correspondent for CBS News “Sunday Mornings” joined the ship’s crewalong with a small group of intrepid tourists, on a trip to see the world’s most famous shipwreck last year.

As he settled into the vessel, which he said had as much interior space as a minivan, Pogue said he “couldn’t help but notice how many parts of this sub seemed thrown together, with off-the-shelf components,” including a video game controller that was used to pilot the submarine