Former Titanic sub passenger dubs dive a 'suicide mission'
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Amid frantic international efforts to locate the lost Titanic-exploring submersible, experts point out that this isn’t the first time the deep-diving vessel has raised flags.
A German adventurer who explored the Titanic wreckage on the same submersible that disappeared has labeled the voyage a “suicide mission.”
“I was incredibly lucky back then,” Arthur Loibl, 60, told German outlet Bild of his hair-raising aquatic adventure.
He undertook the perilous underwater odyssey in August 2021, diving down over 12,000 feet to the famous wreck in the now infamous Titan submersible.
Also along for the descent, which cost Loibl nearly $110,000, were French Titanic expert Paul-Henry Nargeolet, 73, and OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, 61, CEO and founder of the submarine company OceanGate.
They and three other passengers are currently trapped aboard the missing vessel, which is possibly located as deep as 12,500 feet down off the coast of Canada.
“It was a suicide mission back then!” exclaimed the Bavarian entrepreneur, recalling his own journey into the abyss. “The first submarine didn’t work, then a dive at 1,600 meters had to be abandoned.”
Loibl explained that they ended up launching five hours late due to electrical issues — which he suspects is to blame for the Titan crews’ current predicament.
Not only that but right before the voyage, the bracket of the stabilization tube — which balances the sub — tore and had to be “reattached with zip ties,” he said.
Unfortunately, the cramped conditions on board the Titan weren’t exactly reassuring.
“You need strong nerves, you mustn’t be claustrophobic and you have to be able to sit cross-legged for ten hours,” described the aquanaut, who has circumvented Titanic’s remains twice in Titan.
During one of the dives, he even touched down aboard the ill-fated cruise liner.
However, out of all the daredevil’s adventures — flying over Russia in a MiG-29 fighter plane and visiting both the North and South Poles — Loibl says the Titan expeditions were “the most extreme.”
As such, he is praying for the safe return of all parties aboard the sunken sub. “It must be hell down there. There’s only 2.50 meters of space, it’s four degrees, there’s no chair, no toilet,” Loibl described.
The sub — which is carrying British billionaire Hamish Harding and Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son along with the aforementioned two passengers — has been missing since Sunday and has fewer than 41 hours of breathable oxygen left, the US Coast Guard reported Tuesday.
Tourist submersible exploring Titanic wreckage disappears in Atlantic Ocean
What we know
A submersible on a pricey tourist expedition to the Titanic shipwreck in the Atlantic Ocean has vanished with likely only four days’ worth of oxygen. The US Coast Guard said the small submarine began its journey underwater with five passengers Sunday morning, and the Canadian research vessel that it was working with lost contact with the crew about an hour and 45 minutes into the dive.
It was later found that a top-secret team with the US Navy detected the implosion of the Titan submersible on Sunday, but did not stop search efforts due because the evidence was “not definitive” and a decision was made to “make every effort to save the lives on board.”
Who was on board?
The family of world explorer Hamish Harding confirmed on Facebook that he was among the five traveling in the missing submarine. Harding, a British businessman who previously paid for a space ride aboard the Blue Origin rocket last year, shared a photo of himself on Sunday signing a banner for OceanGate’s latest voyage to the shipwreck.
Also onboard were Pakistani energy and tech mogul Shanzada Dawood and his son Sulaiman, 19; famed French diver and Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and OceanGate founder and CEO Stockton Rush.
What’s next?
“We’re doing everything we can do to locate the submersible and rescue those on board,” Rear Adm. John Mauger told reporters. “In terms of the hours, we understood that was 96 hours of emergency capability from the operator.
Coast Guard officials said they are currently focusing all their efforts on locating the sub first before deploying any vessel capable of reaching as far below as 12,500 feet where the Titanic wreck is located.
Mauger, first district commander and leader of the search-and-rescue mission, said the US was coordinating with Canada on the operation.
The debris recovered from the US Coast Guard’s Titan submersible search site early Thursday included “a landing frame and a rear cover from the submersible.”
After search efforts to recover the stranded passengers proved futile, and bits of debris from the submersible were found, it was decided that the sub imploded, which correlated with an anomaly picked up by the US Navy in the same area.
The Coast Guard later reported that all 5 passengers were confirmed dead, and rescue efforts were halted.
Canadian airplane aiding in the search for Titan recently detected “banging” every 30 minutes in the area where the vessel lost radio contact with its surface ship.
However, it’s yet unclear when the potential signs of life, which were confirmed by the US Coast Guard and US Department of Homeland Security, were detected.
In light of the development, a remotely operated underwater vehicle was dispatched to the vicinity where the sounds were heard, but so far the searches have come up empty, the Coast Guard said.
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