https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65953872 BBC Homepage * Skip to content * Accessibility Help * Your account * Home * News * Sport * Reel * Worklife * Travel * Future * More menu More menu Search BBC * Home * News * Sport * Reel * Worklife * Travel * Future * Culture * Music * TV * Weather * Sounds Close menu BBC News Menu * Home * War in Ukraine * Climate * Video * World * US & Canada * UK * Business * Tech * Science More * Entertainment & Arts * Health * In Pictures * Reality Check * World News TV * Newsbeat * US & Canada Titanic tourist submersible goes missing with search under way * Published 34 minutes ago Share close panel Share page Copy link About sharing This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Media caption, Watch: Titanic tourist sub search 'a challenge' - Rear Admiral John Mauger of the US Coast Guard By Gareth Evans & Laura Gozzi BBC News A massive search and rescue operation is under way in the mid Atlantic after a tourist submarine went missing during a dive to Titanic's wreck on Sunday. Contact with the small sub was lost about an hour and 45 minutes into its dive, the US Coast Guard said. Tour firm OceanGate said all options were being explored to rescue the five people onboard. Tickets cost $250,000 (PS195,000) for an eight-day trip including dives to the wreck at a depth of 3,800m (12,500ft). Government agencies, the US and Canadian navies and commercial deep-sea firms are helping the rescue operation, officials said. Titanic's wreck lies some 435 miles (700km) south of St John's, Newfoundland, though the rescue mission is being run from Boston, Massachusetts. The missing craft is believed to be OceanGate's Titan submersible, a truck-sized sub that holds five people and usually dives with a four-day emergency supply of oxygen. On Monday afternoon, Rear Adm John Mauger of the US Coast Guard told a news conference: "We anticipate there is somewhere between 70 and the full 96 hours available at this point." He also said that two aircrafts, a submarine and sonar buoys were involved in the search for the vessel but noted the area in which the search is taking place was "remote", making operations difficult. Rear Adm Mauger said the rescue teams were "taking this personally" and were doing everything they could to bring those on board "home safe". Hamish Harding, a 58-year-old British billionaire businessman and explorer, is among those on the missing submarine, his family said. On social media at the weekend, Mr Harding said he was "proud to finally announce" that he would be aboard the mission to the wreck of the Titanic - but added that because of the "worst winter in Newfoundland in 40 years, this mission is likely to be the first and only manned mission to the Titanic in 2023". He later wrote: "A weather window has just opened up and we are going to attempt a dive tomorrow." OceanGate said its "entire focus [was] on the crewmembers in the submersible and their families". "We are deeply thankful for the extensive assistance we have received from several government agencies and deep sea companies in our efforts to re-establish contact with the submersible," it added. The company bills the eight-day trip on its carbon-fibre submersible as a "chance to step outside of everyday life and discover something truly extraordinary". According to its website, one expedition is ongoing and two more have been planned for June 2024. Titan submersible from OceanGate The submersible usually carries a pilot, three paying guests, and what the company calls a "content expert". The trip sets sail from St John's in Newfoundland. Each full dive to the wreck, including the descent and ascent, reportedly takes around eight hours. The OceanGate website lists three submersibles it owns, and only the Titan is capable of diving deep enough to reach the Titanic wreckage. The vessel weighs 23,000 lbs (10,432 kg) and, according to the website, can reach depths of up to 13,100 ft and has 96 hours of life support available for a crew of five. A vessel called the Polar Prince, which is used to transport submersibles to the wreckage site, was involved in the expedition, its owner told the BBC. A map showing the mothership Polar Prince's known movements David Pogue, a CBS reporter who travelled in the Titan submersible last year, told the BBC about the issues that both the submersible crew and the land crew were likely to be experiencing, saying that there was currently "no way" to communicate with the vessel as neither GPS nor radio "work under water". "When the support ship is directly over the sub, they can send short text messages back and forth. Clearly those are no longer getting a response," Mr Pogue said. He added that because the passengers were sealed inside the vessel by bolts applied from the outside, "There's no way to escape, even if you rise to the surface by yourself. You cannot get out of the sub without a crew on the outside letting you out." * What we know so far about the missing Titan sub * British adventurer among missing on Titanic sub The Titanic, which was the largest ship of its time, hit an iceberg on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York in 1912. Of the 2,200 passengers and crew onboard, more than 1,500 died. Its wreckage has been extensively explored since it was discovered in 1985. The wreck lies in two parts, with the bow and the stern separated by about 2,600ft. A huge debris field surrounds the broken vessel. Last month, the first full-sized digital scan of the wreck was created using deep-sea mapping. The scan shows both the scale of the ship, as well as some minute details, such as the serial number on one of the propellers. This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Media caption, Watch: A recently released video shows a 3D view of the Titanic shipwreck, 3,800m (12,500ft) down at the bottom of the Atlantic Banner saying 'Get in touch' Do you have information about this story? You can get in touch by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways: * WhatsApp: +44 7756 165803 * Tweet: @BBC_HaveYourSay * Upload pictures or video * Please read our terms & conditions and privacy policy If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk. Please include your name, age and location with any submission. Related Topics * RMS Titanic * Sinking of the Titanic * Newfoundland and Labrador * United States * Canada More on this story * What we know so far + Published 1 hour ago Titan submersible from OceanGate * British adventurer among missing on Titanic sub + Published 1 hour ago Hamish Harding * Scans of Titanic reveal wreck as never seen before + Published 17 May Scan of Titanic bow Top Stories * Missing Titanic sub may have 70 hours of oxygen left + Published 34 minutes ago * US and China pledge to stabilise tense relations + Published 6 hours ago * Drones give limited air cover as Ukraine launches fight from trenches + Published 8 hours ago Features * What we know so far about the missing Titanic sub Titan submersible from OceanGate * On the front line as Ukraine attacks Russian trenches Zheka in a trench * Young Burmese confront dashed dreams in exile Anti-coup protesters march in Yangon, Myanmar on March 8, 2022 * * First power, now water: South Africa's taps run dry Protester holding a sign saying "give us our water" * New data casts doubt on Greek account of boat disaster An aerial shot of the fishing vessel carrying migrants * Beauty of insects revealed in photo competition A Blue-tailed damselfly * What's drawing so many Indians to Australia? 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