The countdown to the rescue of the Titanic exploration submarine is on

Only about 40 hours of oxygen left

The missing submarine, called Titan, is about 21 feet long and was built to stay underwater for 96 hours, according to its specifications. And by calculation, the ship only allowed five people on board to survive until Thursday morning local time before running out of air.

The submarine Titan on an expedition to the Titanic wreck has been missing for three days. Photo: Reuters

As previously known, a captain and four passengers were inside this small submarine to explore the wreck of the historic Titanic early Sunday morning. It lost contact with the mother ship at sea about 1 hour and 45 minutes after starting the trip.

US and Canadian aircraft have searched more than 12,000 square kilometres of open ocean, US Coast Guard Captain Jamie Frederick told reporters at a news conference on Tuesday.

Frederick said the Canadian military has deployed sonar buoys to listen for any sounds that might come from Titan. A commercial vessel with a deep-water remotely operated submersible is also searching near the site.

In another development, a French research vessel carrying an autonomous deep-sea submersible has also been sent to the search area at the request of the US Navy and is expected to arrive on Wednesday evening local time.

According to trip information, those on board the Titan for this $250,000/person cruise included British billionaire Hamish Harding, 58, and Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his 19-year-old son Suleman - both British citizens.

The other two are French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77, and Stockton Rush, founder and CEO of OceanGate Expeditions and acting as captain. However, authorities have not confirmed the identities of any of the passengers.

The difficult rescue journey

According to experts, rescuers face significant obstacles in finding the Titan and saving those on board.

Map of the area where the ship sailed and disappeared. Graphics: OceanGate Expeditions, BBC, Graphic News

If the submarine had an emergency mid-dive, the captain could have dropped weights to help it float back to the surface, according to Alistair Greig, professor of marine engineering at University College London. But without communications, locating a sub the size of a small truck in the middle of the vast Atlantic Ocean is a huge challenge.

This small submarine was sealed with bolts from the outside, preventing the people inside from escaping, so without outside help, the survival of the passengers was impossible even if it surfaced.

If Titan is at the bottom of the ocean, the rescue effort will be even more difficult due to the harsh conditions and depths of more than 2 miles. Titanic lies at a depth of more than 2.5 miles, where no sunlight penetrates. Only specialized equipment can reach such depths without being crushed by the enormous water pressure.

“It really is like an astronaut going into space,” said Titanic expert Tim Matlin. “I think if it was on the bottom of the sea, there are very few submarines that would be able to go that deep. And so I think rescuing the submarine would be almost impossible.”

Warnings of tragedy

Before the Titan submarine was commissioned, a group of diving industry leaders wrote a letter to the ship's owner, OceanGate Expeditions, in late 2018, warning that using a mini-submarine to explore the Titanic could cause "catastrophic" incidents.

The search for the ship is ongoing urgently but is expected to be very difficult. Photo: AP

White House national security adviser John Kirby said US President Joe Biden was "closely monitoring events". A Buckingham Palace source said Britain's King Charles had asked to be fully briefed on the search.

OceanGate Expeditions said it was "mobilizing all options" and US Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger said the company was cooperating with search teams.

According to its website, OceanGate plans five-week “missions” to the Titanic every summer. David Pogue, a CBS reporter, sailed the Titan last year. In a December report, he noted that the vessel was “not approved or certified by any regulatory agency” and could result in fatalities.

In an interview Tuesday, Pogue said OceanGate has ventured to the Titanic wreck about two dozen times and “they treat this like a space launch.”

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, CBS)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/thoi-gian-giai-cuu-tau-ngam-tham-hiem-titanic-dang-dem-nguoc-post252537.html