An international search and rescue mission was underway for OceanGate’s Titan submersible carrying five people that went missing during a dive to the Titanic wreckage site.
The search area, roughly two times the size of Connecticut and 2.5 miles deep, was being expanded with the help of expert submariners, remotely operated vehicles, and more ships and underwater vessels. Aircraft were also conducting search operations in the days that followed the incident.
It has been reported by the Daily Mail that the five passengers on board the missing submersible have been identified as OceanGate’s Founder and CEO Stockton Rush, British billionaire Hamish Harding, and French mariner Paul-Henri Nargeolet, along with Pakistani businessman and board member of the Prince’s Trust charity Shahzada Dawood and his son Sulaiman Dawood.
The wealthy businessmen were on a mission to explore the Titanic wreckage site when the submersible lost contact with its support ship on Sunday.
The search was made more challenging by the location being far offshore and the coordination between multiple agencies and nations.
Read more: Race against time: Missing submarine with limited oxygen supply has only a few hours left
The U.S. Navy said a special deep-water salvage system capable of hoisting up to 60,000 pounds had reached St. John’s, Canada, and could be used to lift the Titan to the surface, though it may not be ready for another 12 hours.
The search was also focused on underwater noises that were detected in the area.
Three more vessels arrived to join the international effort to find the missing submersible, but the analysis of the sounds was “inconclusive” so far.
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