An Irish explorer who is part of the Titanic expedition has asked everyone to “think positive” in the search for a missing tourist submarine.
He spoke out as it emerged that a renowned French diver with family based in Cork is one of the five people on board and he was piloting the vessel.
Paul-Henry Nargeolet has two adult children living in the rebel county and one of his grandchildren is being taught at a national school in the city.
Read More: Titanic sub searchers 'detect banging noises' in water amid new survival hopes
He is a leading world expert on the wreck site and has undertaken numerous expeditions to the Titanic’s resting place.
Mr Nargeolet has also helped recover countless artefacts over the years.
The 77-year-old gave a talk at University College Cork in 2019 where he spoke about his many trips to the Titanic’s final resting place.
Rory Golden, who was the first Irish diver to visit the wreckage of the Titanic in 2000, is the on-board Titanic expert for OceanGate
Expeditions, the company which takes paying tourists to view the famous wreck.
Dubliner Rory took to social media yesterday to reassure his friends and family that he was safe and said the crew are focused on the rescue mission at hand and are “thinking positive”.
He wrote on Facebook: “I’m OK. I really want to thank everyone who has been trying to message and WhatsApp me.
“We have a situation that is now the part of a search and rescue effort, being undertaken by major agencies.
“That is where our focus is right now. The reaction and offers of help globally is truly astonishing and only goes to show the real goodness in people at a time like this.
“Our online and internet options are being restricted in order to keep bandwidth available for the co-
ordinated effort that is taking place, so please bear that in mind too.
“Thank you all and think positive. We are.”
As one of the world’s most extensive underwater search missions was being conducted 370 miles out at sea beneath the Atlantic Ocean, relatives of those on board the submersible clung to hope they were still alive.
The desperate families gathered at the harbour their loved ones set sail from awaiting news of their fate. Trapped along with pilot Paul-Henry, are the millionaire businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48, his son Suleman, 19, British billionaire Hamish Harding, 58, and the CEO of the Titanic tour company OceanGate Stockton Rush, 61.
At 6pm yesterday, US Coast Guard officials estimated the sub will have gone through more than half its oxygen supply.
Captain Jamie Frederick, with the First Coast Guard District, said: “We know there’s about 40 hours of breathable air left based on that initial report.”
He said the Coast Guard and its partners’ “search efforts have not yielded any results”.But some experts gave the families a glimmer of hope
Former British Navy commander Ryan Ramsey said the Titan submersible might have surfaced, a view shared by Alistair Greig, a professor of marine engineering at University College London.
Mr Ramsey, who served 23 years underwater, said: “The vessel could well be floating on the surface of the water, meaning it will be easier for rescue crews to locate the submarine before the air runs out.”
Mr Ramsey, 53, said his greatest fear was the sub may have “imploded by now”. He added: “The pressures at that depth are absolutely huge.
“If there’s a fault in any part of that submarine or any crack, then quickly the pressure takes hold and crushes it.”
Professor Greig added his hopes to the rescue mission.
He said: “If there was a power failure and/or communication failure, this might have happened, and the submersible would then be bobbing about on the surface waiting to be found.”
Former Titanic tourists said they had been told that there were seven ballasts that the craft could jettison to float to the top.
Prof Greig said: “Either they are bobbing on the surface and have no power, or something happened that overrode all seven of those ballasts.”
The expert’s assessment came as it emerged the sub wasn’t reported missing for eight hours.
On Wednesday morning, rescuers detected banging noises using sonar in the area, giving families fresh hope that the passengers may yet be found alive.
OceanGate Expeditions was founded in 2009 to take wealthy explorers to see the Belfast-built Titanic, which hit an iceberg and sank in 1912.
The wreck was not located until 1985 when it was found 350 miles off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.
Since then, well-heeled tourists have been visiting the wreck in incredibly strong submersibles although devoid of hi-tech
equipment.
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