According to rescuers' estimates, the oxygen on the submersible is only enough for less than 2 more days, based on the ship's oxygen supply capacity of only 96 hours at most.
Hopes of finding the missing submersible Titan in the Atlantic Ocean while visiting the wreck of the Titanic continue to be nurtured as more rescue forces, experts and specialized equipment are deployed to the search area.
Oxygen for the five people on the submersible is said to be running out rapidly.
The Titan submersible, owned by the private Ocean Gate company - a company specializing in operating and providing ocean exploration services, including tours of the Titanic wreck - lost all contact after less than 2 hours on a dive to the ocean floor to visit the Titanic wreck on June 18.
Rescue teams from various countries are racing against time to join the search for the Titan. The US and Canadian coast guards have deployed aircraft and ships to assist in the search.
A US Navy spokesman said a team of rescue experts, along with specialized winches and salvage support equipment, will join the effort on the evening of June 20 (local time).
Meanwhile, the Pentagon announced that it would send additional C130 and C-17 multi-purpose transport aircraft, while the French Oceanographic Institute said it would send a deep-sea exploration robot and a team of experts to the search area on June 21.
However, searching an area of about 20,000 square kilometers in the Atlantic Ocean at a depth of more than 2 miles (3.2 km) below the sea surface is not easy. In addition, due to weather conditions, experts say rescuers are facing many difficulties in finding the submarine as well as saving all 5 people.
Among them, three passengers paid for this tourist expedition, including British billionaire Hamish Harding, along with a British businessman of Pakistani origin and his son.
According to rescuers' estimates, the oxygen on the submersible is only enough for less than 2 more days, based on the ship's oxygen supply capacity of only 96 hours at most.
According to Professor of Marine Engineering Alistair Greig, University College London, there are two possibilities based on the images of the Titan submersible published in the press.
First, if the ship experiences electrical or communications failure, it can still surface and remain floating on the ocean “waiting to be found,” noting that the ship can only be unlocked from the outside. Second, if the pressure on the hull is damaged, it can cause a leak, which is not a good thing.
The famous Titanic hit an iceberg and sank in 1912 on its maiden voyage from England to New York with 2,224 passengers and crew on board.
More than 1,500 people died in the tragedy. The wreck lies at a depth of about 3,800 m on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada .
Since the Titanic wreck was discovered in 1985, many tourists and professional divers have visited the wreck at great expense.
To see the Titanic wreck with your own eyes, a tourist must pay 25,000 USD at Ocean Gate - according to the price announced last year./.
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