All that remains is to pray: the passengers of the bathyscaphe stranded near the Titanic ran out of oxygen 22.06.2023, 14:10

The four-day drama with the OceanGate Expeditions vessel has escalated to the limit. The bathyscaphe disappeared on Sunday 1 hour 45 minutes after the dive. According to experts, it is located at a depth of about four thousand meters at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean in the place where the Titanic sank in 1912.

On board the small submarine Titan are five tourists – OceanGate founder Stockton Rush, French aquanaut Paul-Henri Narjolet, British billionaire Hamish Harding, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleiman. Company representatives said the expedition members had a 96-hour supply of air. According to the latest data, it ended at 14:10 Moscow time. Only prayer can help now, the commander of a US Navy ship that arrived at the scene of the loss of the bathyscaphe told reporters.

Meanwhile, the rescuers have not yet managed to locate the Titan. Experts said there is no chance of saving the wealthy tourists – even if Titan is found before then, it will take some time to reach the surface.

The operation is led by the US Coast Guard, as this part of the ocean falls under the jurisdiction of states, and rescuers from Canada, France and other countries also participate in it. The search covered an area of ​​10,000 square miles (25,900 km2). They include several planes, helicopters, about a dozen different ships and diving installations.

Today, the French research vessel L’Atalante arrived in the search area, carrying on board the unmanned robotic submarine Victor 6000. It can dive to the depth where the remains of the Titanic lie. Polar Prince, the Titan’s transport ship, continues to scan the water. The ship zigzags around the dive site in the hope that the bathyscaphe will surface or make contact.

The reasons for the submarine’s disappearance are still a mystery. It is known that she did not pass the necessary certification and was in fact homemade. However, tourists took a risk and paid $250,000 for the dive. Stockton Rush’s business partner urged people not to lose hope. Guillermo Sonlein said that if the men remained still and lay still, they were able to significantly conserve air supplies, the Daily Mail reports.

“Today is a critical day in this search and rescue operation as the submarine’s life support supplies begin to run low.” I’m sure Stockton and the rest of the crew knew right away that the best thing they could do to ensure their rescue was to stretch their reserves by going as loose as possible. I firmly believe that the time allotted to save them is longer than most people realize. I continue to rely on my friend and the rest of the crew,” said Sonlein.

Even more interesting materials in our Telegram channel.