A submersible which was taking tourists to visit the site of the Titanic wreckage in deep waters off the coast of Canada went missing on Sunday, the reports of which emerged on Monday.
The 21-foot vessel is called Titan and was operated by OceanGate Expeditions. Authorities have said that it started its descent on Sunday but lost contact with the surface less than two hours later.
Currently, the search and rescue teams from the United States and Canada are racing against time to find the Titan submersible, but so far, there’s no luck.
A report by news agency AFP mentioned the US Coast Guard as saying late Monday that its search for a missing vessel near the Titanic wreck had been completed for the day.
However, a national guard unit and the company operating the five-passenger underwater mission would continue scouring the surface overnight.
Two planes were launched by the US Coast Guard to survey the remote area in the North Atlantic, while its Canadian counterparts sent a plane and a ship to scan the region.
The US Coast Guard’s Boston-based unit said in a tweet around 9:00 pm (0100 GMT Tuesday) that its flights for the day “have been completed” and there were no reported sightings of the vessel or communication signals throughout the day.
The tweet read, “The Polar Prince and @Rescue106 will continue to do surface searches throughout the evening.” It referred to the research ship that launched the submersible and a US Air National Guard unit, respectively.
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Difference between submarine and submersible
Some media reports are referring to the vessel as a submarine, but it is not. As explained by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration website, a submarine has the capacity to launch itself into the ocean from a port independently, but a submersible does not have enough power. It can’t get to the port or the bottom of the ocean on its own as it needs a mother ship that can launch it and recover it.
The website noted that submersibles are launched from support ships, and they are carried to the site where the vessel will deep dive for the expedition. It is similar to the process of scuba diving — a boat deposits the divers into an area of the ocean to explore. A report by CNN mentioned that Titan’s location is unknown because it lost contact with its support ship, Polar Prince.
Besides, the vice chair of one of Pakistan’s largest conglomerates is also among those missing. Shahzada Dawood is vice chair of Engro Corporation, with investments in fertilisers, vehicle manufacturing, energy and digital technologies. His son Suleman is also on board.
The website of SETI stated that a California-based research institute of which he is a trustee, he lives in Britain with his wife and two children.
(With inputs from agencies)
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