An RMS Titanic expert has spoken out after a tourist submarine diving to the ship's wreckage disappeared on Sunday.
It's believed that three Brits are among the five passengers of a tourist submarine-like vessel who had paid a large sum of money to see the ruins of the White Star Line and Cunard vessel.
The company behind the tourist visit, OceanGate Expeditions, have said they are "exploring and mobilising all options" to bring the crew and paying guests to safety.
Now, a leading expert on the Titanic which sunk after striking an iceberg in 1912 claims that those who took part in the dive were aware of the risks it entailed.
Speaking on TalkTV's Jeremy Kyle Live, David Scott-Beddard, chairman of the British Titanic Society said: "when you undertake a dive such as this, the passengers and the crew, they do realise the possibility of an incident such as this happening."
Reflecting on the news of the submarine's disappearance, Scott-Beddard added: "It's clearly very distressing news.
"This is the first incidence of this type since RMS Titanic was discovered in September of 1985, so primarily our thoughts are with the crew and members of the public who are tourists onboard the submersible."
It's believed that the lost submarine is able to stay underwater for around 92 hours before it would be required to return to the surface.
However, Scott-Beddard claims that the hull of the vessel would be fitted with several sensors around the hull of the submarine which would detect any change in pressure.
He believes that the change in pressure as the submarine continued to dive deeper would have alerted the pilot and ensured they had enough time to get closer to the surface.
"The pressure on the hull down at 4000 metres is approximately three and a half tonnes per square inch," he said before adding: "So let's just hope that that system is working if this is the issue and they're brought home safely."
Although he says he doesn't want to "pre-empt the thoughts of loss of life," he went on to explain: "Clearly when you undertake a dive such as this, the passengers and the crew, they do realise the possibility of an incident such as this happening.
"I personally don't know a great deal more than what you've already said about the submersible at this stage so all I can repeat is that we hope and pray all five of those divers come back safely."
However, he went on to explain despite the risks of the dive, people are still fascinated by the disaster of RMS Titanic and how she managed to shape history.
"Titanic exhibitions are visited by millions of people around the world each year and it still holds that fascination with the public," he added.
