BOSTON — A search and rescue mission is underway in the Atlantic Ocean to find a missing submersible used to take tourists to view the wreck of the Titanic 2.5 miles beneath the water’s surface, authorities said.
The U.S. Coast Guard in Boston said a rescue operation was taking place to locate the small submersible. The Titanic is about 370 miles off the coast of Newfoundland, the BBC and CBS News reported.
The private company OceanGate Expeditions, which takes paying travelers on deep sea expeditions, confirmed in a statement that it owned the missing submersible and that people were on board, CNN reported.
“Our entire focus is on the crew members in the submersible and their families. We are deeply thankful for the extensive assistance we have received from several government agencies and deep sea companies in our efforts to reestablish contact with the submersible,” the group said. “We are working toward the safe return of the crew members.”
Ocean Gate had recently posted on its social media feeds that one of its expeditions was “under way.” The company said each submersible can accommodate five passengers. Photos showed about two dozen people posing before embarking on one of the planned missions.
It’s been an incredibly busy two weeks! Thank you to all of our dive teams who’ve joined us – here’s a look at our Mission 3 and Mission 4 crew.
OceanGate’s website advertises eight night voyages to see the Titanic wreckage, charging customers $250,000.
Titanic, the vessel once billed as “unsinkable,” was on its maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York when it sank into the Atlantic on April 14, 1912, after hitting an iceberg. More than 1,500 people died that fateful night, out of the 2,224 passengers and crew who were on board.
The world’s most famous decaying ship lies in two parts at the bottom of the ocean. The first 3D digital scan of the Titanic shipwreck was unveiled last month, offering a never-before-seen detailed view of the ill-fated ocean liner as a complete image.
In February, rare video footage was released from the 1985 discovery of the ghostly shipwreck. The more than hour-long recording was made public for the first time by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, which discovered the location of the doomed ship at the time and sent a three-person team in a submersible vessel to film the wreckage the following summer.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Edited by Deborah .C. Amirize and Diane Walsh
