Prominent Russian explorer and oceanologist Anatoly Sagalevich told Sputnik on Thursday that the incident with the Titan submersible that went missing near the Titanic wreck site is "close to fatal" or even fatal, adding that if the people on board had survived, they would have given a signal
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd June, 2023) Prominent Russian explorer and oceanologist Anatoly Sagalevich told Sputnik on Thursday that the incident with the Titan submersible that went missing near the Titanic wreck site is "close to fatal" or even fatal, adding that if the people on board had survived, they would have given a signal.
On Sunday, OceanGate's submarine went missing during an expedition to the Titanic wreckage in an area about 900 miles east of Cape Cod in the North Atlantic, at a depth of approximately 13,000 feet. The submarine has a capacity for five people and an oxygen supply that can last for 96 hours. A search and rescue operation has been underway since Monday morning. According to the US Coast Guard, the submarine, if it is not damaged and is still functioning, should have ran out of air at 10:30 GMT on Thursday.
"The situation is almost close to fatal, and maybe fatal ... If people were alive, they would have made themselves felt (), but there were no signals, the vehicle just disappeared, and that's it," Sagalevich, the head of the laboratory of deep-sea manned submersibles of the Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said.
He added that his friend, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, who is on board the submersible, is an experienced navigator and knows how to make contact with the surface in case of an emergency.
"It's a pity that this vehicle in a state of disrepair does not have any hydroacoustic warning devices ... They have no navigation, they do not have hydroacoustic beacons; there is no emergency pinger that would make it possible to indicate the place where this vehicle is," Sagalevich noted.
Hamish Harding, a billionaire and adventure traveler, and Shahzada Dawood, vice chairman of Pakistan's Engro corporation, with his son Suleman, have been confirmed to be on board the submersible. Media reported that the two other passengers are the CEO of OceanGate himself, Stockton Rush, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet, a French maritime expert who took part in over 35 dives to the Titanic wreck site.
