Titanic tourist submarine goes missing, carrying British billionaire

The US Coast Guard said the missing submarine had a crew of one and four passengers. It had the ability to operate underwater for 96 hours, but it was unclear whether it was still underwater or had surfaced and was currently unreachable.

Titanic wreckage ship follows a billionaire picture 1 — The tourist submarine Titan is used to wait for passengers to explore the wreck of the historic Titanic. Photo: AP

US and Canadian ships and aircraft have been sent to the area where the ship is believed to have gone missing, and sonar buoys that can track as deep as 13,000 feet (3,962 meters) have been dropped into the water, US Coast Guard Adm. John Mauger told reporters on Monday. “It’s a remote area and it’s hard to conduct a search,” he added.

The private company that operates the submarine, OceanGate Expeditions, said in a statement Monday that it was “mobilizing all options” to rescue those on board. British billionaire Hamish Harding was among the passengers, according to a social media post from a relative.

The US Coast Guard said earlier on Twitter that a surface boat - the Polar Prince - lost contact with the submarine, known as Titan, about 1 hour and 45 minutes after it began diving towards the Titanic wreck on Sunday morning.

Harding's stepson wrote on Facebook that he was "missing on a submarine." However, he later deleted the post, citing the family's privacy.

Titanic wreckage ship follows a billionaire picture 2 — The Titanic wreck is an expensive and adventurous tourist attraction. Photo: Reuters

Harding himself had posted on Facebook earlier that he would be aboard the ship. There have been no further posts from his account since. The expedition set sail on Friday, with the first dive scheduled for Sunday morning, according to Harding’s post.

According to the OceanGate website, the expeditions cost $250,000 per person and will take a 400-mile journey across the Atlantic Ocean to the site of the Titanic. Passengers will be transported in a five-person Titan submarine that will take two hours to descend to a depth of about 12,000 feet to the site of the Titanic.

As we know, the famous British ship Titanic sank in 1912 on its maiden voyage after hitting an iceberg, killing more than 1,500 people. This historical event inspired many books and especially the blockbuster movie "Titanic" released in 1997.

Bui Huy (according to Reuters, CNN, AP)

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