Titanic tour firm ‘exploring all options’ to save missing crew.
The operator, OceanGate, says it’s exploring and mobilising “all options to bring the crew back safely”
The Boston coast guard tells the BBC it is leading the search operation
It is not known how many people are on board – or precisely where the vessel is
According to the firm, the vessel has “life support” for 96 hours for a crew of five
The wreck sits around 3,800m (12,500ft) below sea level at the bottom of the ocean
It is located around 600km (370 miles) off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.
WHAT MIGHT HAVE HAPPENED TO THE CREW
Prof Alistair Greig from University College London is an expert on submarines. He has worked through a number of scenarios for where the missing submersible might be.
One is that it released a “drop weight” after an emergency, in order to bring it to the surface.
“If there was a power failure and or communication failure, this might have happened, and the submersible would then be bobbing about on the surface waiting to be found.”
Another scenario, he says, is that the hull was compromised resulting in a leak. “Then the prognosis is not good.”
If it has gone down to the seabed and can’t get back up under its own power, the options – according to Prof Greig – are very limited.
“While the submersible might still be intact, if it is deeper than more than 200m (656ft) there are very few vessels that can get that deep, and certainly not divers.
“The vehicles designed for navy submarine rescue certainly can’t get down to anywhere near the depth of the Titanic.
“And even if they could, I very much doubt that they could attach to the hatch of the tourist submersible.”
BBC