The expert who worked with James Cameron on 1997 blockbuster Titanic has said he fears the worst about the missing subversive, which went missing while voyaging to the shipwreck.
The vessel disappeared while travelling to the wreckage of the Titanic on Sunday (18 June), with OceanGate – the company behind the tourist trips – confirming five crew members on board are missing.
Search teams are in a race against time to find the tiny submersible craft, which is said to have only around 96 hours worth of air inside, with reports the oxygen is due to run out at 6am BST on Thursday, 22 June.
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It is also feared the submersible may be hard to find as the wreckage site itself sits on the ocean floor at a depth of around 12,500 feet (3,800 meters), meaning that it is difficult to access, even with sophisticated submersibles.
Titanic expert Parks Stephenson, who worked with director James Cameron on his Oscar-winning disaster movie, has said he feels ‘concerned’ for those aboard as the search continues.
Stephenson, who travelled to the 1912 shipwreck with Cameron while working as a technical advisor on the film – a trip that was a number of many visits – wrote on Facebook: “No matter what you may read in the coming hours, all that is truly known at this time is that communications with the submersible have been lost and that is unusual enough to warrant the most serious consideration.
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“I am most concerned about the souls aboard, whose identities have not yet been made public.”
In another post, he confirmed he would be ‘declining all interview requests’, adding: “This is an evolving situation and I want to be respectful to everyone who might be affected by what has the potential to be a major tragedy. Likewise, I will not engage in comments to my posts regarding this subject.
“Please keep the well being of all those potentially affected in your thoughts. They wouldn’t be out there if it wasn’t for the public demand for information regarding this wreck.”
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Speaking at a press conference on Monday, 19 June, Rear Admiral John Mauger said the US Coast Guard is working 'as hard as possible' to locate the submarine.
"A frantic marine search is underway for a missing tourist submersible which has not been seen since it launched to take five people to the Titanic wreckage yesterday morning," he said, adding the Coast Guard was notified of its disappearance on the afternoon of Sunday 18 June.
"We're working as hard as possible bringing all assets to bear to try and find the submersible.
"We began immediately to mobilize assets to search both the surface of the water, search from the air, and to detect any vessels under the water as well. We've had a comprehensive search to find these people."
Topics: US News, Titanic, James Cameron
Jess Hardiman