2023-06-20 19:29:33
WASHINGTON – The crew of the missing submersible has only 40 hours of oxygen left, so the United States and Canada are stepping up their search efforts in the North Atlantic, the US Coast Guard said Tuesday.
The ship, which disappeared on Sunday as it headed for the Titanic, had enough oxygen inside to keep the five people on board breathing for about 96 hours; but, as time passes, that figure is decreasing.
“From the data we’re using, we know they started at 96 hours. Right now, we know we’re at about 40 to 41 hours,” Capt. Jamie Frederick of the US Coast Guard told a news conference. .
Frederick stressed that the United States and Canada are doing everything possible to find the submersible, but stressed that the search operation is “very complex,” covering up to 20,000 square kilometers, an area larger than the state of Connecticut.
In addition, Frederick explained that an operations center has been established in Boston to coordinate the efforts of the US, Canada and the company that owns the submersible, OceanGate Expeditions, which organizes expeditions with submersibles in deep waters.
Trips to see the remains of the iconic Titanic are worth $250,000.
At the press conference, Frederick listed the number of resources that have been made available to the search efforts: from a Lockheed C-130 Hercules military transport plane from the United States to a Boeing P-8 Poseidon plane from Canada, able to detect objects under the sea.
In addition, Frederick explained that the US Coast Guard also began using a remotely operated underwater robot to try to locate the submersible and explained that this machine includes a camera that relays images in real time.
Private boats have also joined the search, and more vessels from the Canadian Coast Guard will join tonight.
One of the biggest difficulties in the rescue effort is that even if the submersible is found, it will be very difficult to get it to the surface because most submersibles can only go a few hundred kilometers into the ocean.
According to the Coast Guard, the missing submersible could be found both on the surface and under the ocean, at a depth of hundreds of kilometers.
According to authorities, the five members of the crew are Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, his son Suleman, British explorer Hamish Harding and OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush. The identity of the other person on board has not been confirmed.
The company that owns the submersible, OceanGate Expeditions, offers eight-day, seven-night trips on its website to visit the remains of the Titanic, with an approximate price of $250,000.
The remains of the Titanic, which sank after colliding with an iceberg in 1912, lie at a depth of around 3,800 meters and at a distance of approximately 640 kilometers from the Canadian island of Newfoundland.
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