A search for the missing Titan submersible is still underway, with only a few hours of oxygen left for those onboard.
The vessel lost communication with tour operators on Sunday when it was roughly 435 miles south of St John's, Newfoundland. It had dispatched with the goal of heading to the Titanic shipwreck off the coast of Canada.
The Titan is carrying five people, including British billionaire adventurer Hamish Harding. The others are UK-based businessman Shahzada Dawood, his son Suleman Dawood, OceanGate's chief executive and founder Stockton Rush, and reportedly French submersible pilot Paul-Henri Nargeolet.
Join our WhatsApp Top Stories and Breaking News group by clicking this link
Richard Garriott de Cayeux, president of The Explorers Club, has confirmed it is sending support to help with the search for the vessel which has British billionaire adventurer and founding member of the Board of Trustees of The Explorers Club Hamish Harding but criticised the time taken to get that help accepted.
He wrote in a statement published on Twitter: “Thanks for all your support and hard work on the rescue operations for our friends aboard Titan.
“I believe we have importantly improved the odds of a positive outcome through our advice, volunteering of services and equipment, and even the political pressure we continue to bring to bear.
“All has been needed. All continues to be needed. Magellan is en route (should have been accepted sooner), we are still trying to get side scan sonar (should have been accepted sooner), and still working on ships to transport equipment and other details.
“We continue to come together for our friends, their families and the ideals of The Explorers Club, and the cause of safe scientific exploration of extreme environments. There is good cause for hope and we are making it more hopeful.”
Kathleen Cosnett, a cousin of Mr Harding, 58, told the Telegraph on Wednesday that OceanGate’s eight-hour delay before contacting the authorities was “far too long”. She said: “It’s very frightening. It took so long for them to get going to rescue them, it’s far too long.
“I would have thought three hours would be the bare minimum.”
