The US Coast Guard said it was searching an area 1,450km off Cape Cod, Massachusetts, on June 19. The Canadian Coast Guard has also deployed aircraft and ships to assist.

The Titan is owned by the private company Ocean Gate, which operates and provides ocean exploration services, including tours of the Titanic wreck. The company said the Titan can dive to a maximum depth of 4,000m and has enough oxygen for 96 hours for five people.

British billionaire Hamish Harding is an adventure-loving businessman and was among those missing on the submersible.

The missing Titan submersible. Photo: oceangate.com

The Titanic hit an iceberg and sank in 1912 on its maiden voyage from England to New York with 2,224 passengers and crew on board. More than 1,500 people died in the tragedy. The wreck lies at a depth of about 3,800m on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. Since the Titanic was discovered in 1985, many tourists and professional divers have visited the wreck at great expense.

To see the Titanic wreck with your own eyes, a tourist must pay $25,000 at Ocean Gate - according to the price announced last year.

VNA