Although the search is ongoing, hope for finding survivors is dwindling along with the oxygen supply aboard the Titan submersible; the commercial sub that went missing on Sunday during a two-hour sight-seeing trip to the wreck of the HMS Titanic.
Updated Thursday, June 22, 2023 at 3:30 p.m. EST - A debris field belonging to the Titan was found 1,600 feet from the wreck of the HMS Titanic. Read here for latest updates.
Updated Thursday, June 22, 2023 11:55 a.m. EST - the Official First Coast Guard District announced that an ROV, or remotely operated vehicle, has located a debris field near the wreck site of the Titanic:
Click here for more updates on the Titan.
Updated Thursday, June 22, 2023 9:51 a.m. EST: Cofounder of OceanGate, Guillermo Sohnlein, released a personal statement to Insider regarding the search:
“Today will be a critical day in this search and rescue mission, as the sub’s life support supplies are starting to run low,” Sohnlein said in his statement to Insider.
“I’m certain that Stockton and the rest of the crew realized days ago that the best thing they can do to ensure their rescue is to extend the limits of those supplies by relaxing as much as possible.
“I firmly believe that the time window available for their rescue is longer than what most people think. I continue to hold out hope for my friend and the rest of the crew.”
The five souls aboard may have ran out of oxygen early Thursday morning, according to Reuters and the New York Times.
While oxygen is likely at critical levels or altogether spent, Rear Adm. John Mauger of the U.S. Coast Guard told Today that the human spirit can’t be discounted in situations like these.
The desire to live is indeed very important, but not so important as the presence of conditions for life. However, the estimates also rest on unknowns, such as if the five aboard have remained calm, and if the power is still working aboard the vessel. This is all assuming the Titan is still intact.
Rescuers spotted a glimmer of hope Wednesday when a knocking sound was detected using sonar planes and ocean surface buoys. Knocking at regular intervals is a common tactic used by sub crews in distress. Rescuers rushed to the area where the sound was heard, however it is unclear if the knocking even came from the submersible.
The oxygen maybe be coming to an end just as additional vessels are joining the search. Canadian vessel Horizon Arctic and the French vessel Atalante arrived at the site this morning to join the search, the Times reports. Remote control submersibles are also searching the area as of Thursday, but has come up empty so far, Reuters reports. Currently, ships and aircraft are searching an area twice the size of Connecticut for the missing submersible.
Onboard are Hamish Harding, chairman of airplane marketplace Action Aviation, conglomerate chairman Shahzada Dawood, who works at Engro Corporation plus his 19-year-old son Suleman, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, a French explorer and Titanic wreckage enthusiast and Stockton Rush, CEO and founder of OceanGate.
Click here for more updates on the Titan.