The United States Coast Guard searches for the Titan submersible in the Atlantic Ocean.
Photo: JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP/Getty Images
The United States Coast Guard estimates that the submersible that was intended to explore the remains of the legendary Titanic ocean liner only has approximately 40 hours of breathable oxygen.
“Approximately 40 hours of breathable air remaining… This is an incredibly complex operation … We will do everything in our power to effect a rescue,” said Coast Guard Capt. Jamie Frederick.
At a press conference, the authorities specified that the estimate of 40 hours of oxygen is based on the 70 and 96 hours that this submersible has in case of an emergency.
“From the data we are using, we know they had started with 96 hours. At this moment, we know that we are approximately between 40 and 41 hours“, said the captain of the United States Coast Guard.
Jamie Frederick explained that an operations center has been established in Boston to coordinate the work of the United States, Canada and the company that owns the submarine, Ocean Gate Expeditionswhich organizes expeditions with submarines in deep seas.
To carry out the rescue efforts, the US Coast Guard and the Canadian Armed Forces use ground zero in the Atlantic Ocean, located approximately 900 miles (1,450 kilometers) from Cape Cod in Massachusetts, a ship with the capacity to operate underwater drones and several high-tech equipped aircraft.
“Our crews from the Coast Guard and from the US and Canadian governments and the private sector have been working day and night to bring all the capabilities we have to find the submersible and locate these people,” he said in an interview for ABC News John Mauger, Commandant of the Coast Guard.
For its part, France, at the request of President Emmanuel Macron, announced that it will join the rescue efforts through the Institute of Ocean Sciences, Ifremer, who sent the ship “Atalante” equipped with an underwater robot to search the Atlantic for the 5 missing from the Titan submersible.
A group of operators from the Toulon maritime base travel on the Atalante who are in charge of handling the robot “Victor 6,000”which will dive to a depth of about 4,000 meters to try to locate the Titan.
The Atalante is expected to arrive at the sinking area this Wednesday June 21 around 18:00 GMT.
With information from Efe.
Keep reading:
• The complex operation to rescue the missing submersible with 5 people who were going to visit the remains of the Titanic
• “There is no escape capsule”: what it is like to travel aboard the Titan submarine that got lost on the way to the Titanic
• What is known about the 5 people who travel in the missing submersible that was heading to the legendary Titanic ship
