What do we know about the missing submarine that set out to explore the wreckage?

The US and Canadian Coast Guard continued search operations on Tuesday, June 20 Titan, A small tourist submarine goes missing in the Atlantic Ocean off North America. Titanic There were five men on board, including French aquaman Paul-Henri Narcolet, a wreck specialist.

A search and rescue operation has been launched

The craft operator, OceanGate Expeditions, a private company that operates the submarine, authorities warned Sunday, went missing during an organized trip to access wrecks off Canada’s coast. Titanic. OceanGate Expeditions announced in a statement on Monday “Explore and mobilize all options” Workers must be brought safely.

The head of the US Coast Guard, Rear Admiral John Mauger, explained during a press conference on Monday that three US and two Canadian aircraft are currently mobilized to locate the submarine. Surface and underwater surveys are carried out using buoys equipped with sonars. The search area is 1,450 kilometers off the coast of Massachusetts – and nearly four kilometers deep. Aerial searches, unsuccessful throughout the day, were suspended overnight. The Coast Guard tweeted Americans on Monday around 9pm (3am in France).

A US Coast Guard spokesman confirmed Monday evening that five people were aboard the missing submarine. “The crew Prince of Dhruva [un bateau de l’entreprise] He lost contact with them within about an hour and forty-five minutes.”He described.

Time is now a key factor in locating submarine passengers. It is a remote area and conducting research in such an area is complicated.”, John Mauger added, estimating that the submarine still had seventy hours or more of oxygen left. Former submarine officer Frank Owen said BBC The challenge for those on board is to stay cool and not consume too much oxygen.

A study of $250,000 instead

OceanGate Expeditions, it was recently confirmed On his social networks One of his travels “in progress”, charges its clients $250,000 (230,000 euros) for a spot on its submarine and eight days to see the famous wreck. The submarine can accommodate five people, including a pilot, three paying passengers and one person. “expert”.

On his website Explaining its methods of operations, OceanGate Expeditions confirmed a mission visit Titanic Held from 12th to 20th June. The company’s only device capable of going to ocean liner depth is Titan, “A submarine designed to take 5 people to a depth of 4,000 meters”with a limit of ninety-six hours for a crew of five.

The company uses Prince of DhruvaAn icebreaker, previously operated by the Canadian Coast Guard, can carry dozens of people and navigate to a submersible.

Who is on board?

Officials have not confirmed the identities of those on board. Rear Admiral Mager did not want to give any information. “For respect to families”According to the operator, it simply says one pilot and four people.

Among the passengers is the richest British businessman, pilot and space tourist Hamish Harding, 58, CEO of Action Aviation, a Dubai-based private jet sales company. “The crew of the submarine is made up of some legendary explorers, some of whom have completed more than 30 dives. Titanic Since the 1980s”wrote Hamish took to his Instagram account as Mr Saturday announcing participation in the trip. He added that the French expert in TitanicAquanaut Paul-Henry Nargeolet was also part of the expedition, his family confirmed to BFMTV. According to the BBCThe Pakistani businessman quoted a statement from his family Shahjata DawoodEngro Group Vice Chairman and SETI Institute Executive and his son Suleman are also on board.

Power, communication or hull problem

Without studying the craft, Alastair Craig, professor of marine engineering at University College London, raised two possible theories based on images of the device published by the press. He figures that a problem with electricity or communications could have brought him to the floating surface. “waiting to be discovered”. “Another scenario is that Hull is compromised.”And there was a leak. “Then the prediction is wrong”, he added. And “Few ships can sail” To the depths he believes he may have sunk.

SkyNew For his part, he explains that in normal times, the submarine emits a signal every fifteen minutes to show that it is safe. But the British channel understands that these signals have stopped.

CBS Correspondent David Bock, who traveled on the submarine last year, told the BBC Passengers are locked inside the main capsule, locked by bolts and unable to get out. On Twitter, he recalled being the machine “I got lost for a few hours last summer when I was on a ship.”.

The third voyage to the “Titanic”.

Deformations of Titanic It lies 3,810 meters (12,500 ft) at the bottom of the Atlantic, nearly 600 kilometers off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. In 1912, the liner struck an iceberg on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York. Of the 2,200 passengers and crew on board, more than 1,500 died.

This OceanGate expedition is the third such expedition to document the deterioration of the sunken Atlantic liner and its underwater life. The trip was scheduled to depart from St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador in early May and end in late June, according to a court document the company filed in April in U.S. District Court in Virginia. Titanic.