A U.S. Coast Guard commander said Tuesday that crews are working around the clock in an area the size of Connecticut to locate a missing submersible vehicle that dove into the Atlantic Ocean to get a glimpse of Titanic wreckage.
Crews lost contact with the vessel, known as the Titan, early Sunday as it headed to great depths to explore the site of the 1912 wreck. The five-person journey should have taken 2½ hours.
At least four of the five people on the craft have been publicly identified. They include Hamish Harding, a British businessman and explorer; Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son, Suleman; and Paul-Henri Nargeolet, a French maritime expert, according to The New York Times.
“This is a complex case,” Adm. John Mauger, told ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “Our crews in the Coast Guard and partners across both the U.S. government and within Canada and the private sector have been working around the clock to bring all capabilities that we have to bear on finding the submersible and locating the people.”
The search is being conducted about 900 miles off the coast of Massachusetts at depths that reach 13,000 feet. It involves members of the Coast Guard and personnel from Canada and the private sector.
Adm. Mauger said they flew multiple aircraft over the site and are using remotely operated vehicles to search underwater.
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Crews are using aircraft, buoys and vehicles that can use sonar or listen for any sound from the submersible.
“If they are making sounds, that’s certainly one of the ways that we’re going to use to locate them,” he said.
Adm. Mauger said his thoughts are with the crew members and their families.
“This is an incredibly difficult time for them but we are bringing all resources available to bear on this problem,” he said.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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