A tourist submarine carrying five people has gone missing near the wreckage of the Titanic oceanliner, the Boston Coast Guard reported Monday. A search and rescue operation has been launched.
The OceanGate Expeditions company, which provides tours of the site where the famous ship sank, confirmed that contact with the submarine was lost.
“Our entire focus is on the crewmembers in the submersible and their families,” the company said in a statement. “We are exploring and mobilizing all options to bring the crew back safely.”
Ten-hour tours to see the wreckage of the Titanic cost $250,000 a ticket.
Among the five people on board the submarine is British explorer Hamish Harding, his family confirmed in a Facebook post. Last year, Harding traveled to outer space on the Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket. He holds three world records for the fastest circumnavigation of the Earth via both poles, greatest distance covered at full ocean depth, and greatest duration spent at full ocean depth.
The Titanic, the largest oceanliner in the world at the time at 882 feet in length and 46,329 tons in weight, sank on its maiden voyage on April 15 1912 after striking an iceberg. Over 1,500 people perished in the disaster. The vessel rests 12,500 feet below the surface off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.