Missing submarine at Titanic

The submarine Titan on Sunday. AP  

 

Missing submarine at Titanic 

Right now: The oxygen is judged to have run out - deep-sea robots may be their last rescue  

 

At 1:08 p.m., Swedish time, the oxygen in the underwater vehicle Titan is estimated to have run out. Despite that, there is still hope to save the five passengers on board the submarine, which is still missing in the North Atlantic. 

 

On Thursday, the French deep-sea robot Victor reached the location above the Titanic's wreckage. The robot can go down to a depth of 6,000 meters and can therefore reach down to the wreck, which is 3,800 meters into the sea. But several problems remain. First, the robot must locate the submarine. Should the robot find the submarine, however, additional equipment is required to be able to lift it to the surface, writes Sky News.  

 

The US Coast Guard has estimated that the mini-sub has a total of 96 hours of oxygen in the event of an emergency, which would mean 1:08 p.m. today, Thursday. But experts have warned that the estimates are imprecise and that it is possible that the oxygen on board could last longer than 96 hours. 

 

 

The Stockton Rush/Oceangate submarine. TT 

 

Missing submarine commander married to Titanic descendant  

 

Stockton Rush, one of those aboard the missing submarine in the North Atlantic, is married to a descendant of two first-class passengers who died when the Titanic sank in 1912, the New York Times reports.  

 

He is married to Wendy Rush who is the great-great-granddaughter of retail magnate Isidor Straus and his wife Ida, who were two of the wealthiest people aboard the Titanic.  

 

Stockton Rush is the founder and CEO of Oceangate, which owns the mini-sub. Another four people are on board the missing submarine, which is estimated to have run out of oxygen at 1:08 p.m. today, although according to experts it is difficult to say that the 96-hour "emergency window" is set in stone.  

 

 

Several health risks threaten submarine: "Should continue searching" 

 

Cooling, lack of water and high levels of carbon dioxide. It is not only lack of oxygen that threatens the five passengers aboard the missing Titan submersible in the Atlantic, reports the BBC.  

 

Ryan Ramsey, a former U.S. Navy submarine captain, says that what worries him is that - according to the images shared by the company Oceangate on the Titan - there does not appear to be anything to regulate carbon dioxide levels on the submarine. 

 

- For me, that is the biggest problem of all, he says.  

 

The coastguard has warned that the oxygen risks running out in the next few hours, around lunchtime Swedish time. According to Ramsey, however, the crew can conserve oxygen by slowing their breathing. At the same time, he points out that it can be difficult to think under high stress.  

 

Despite all the challenges, medical expert Ken Ledez warns against stopping the rescue effort too soon.  

 

- If anyone can survive, it is these individuals (...) they can still be alive.