Submarine bound for Titanic wreckage goes missing with five people, rescue efforts intensify

Search teams are currently scouring the North Atlantic to locate a submarine that disappeared while en route to the Titanic wreckage. Concern for the well-being of the five individuals aboard the vessel are growing because their oxygen reserves are expected to last a maximum of 96 hours.

According to authorities, the 6.5-meter (21-foot) craft commenced its descent on Sunday but lost all contact with the surface less than two hours later. OceanGate Expeditions, the company operating the submarine, issued a statement on Monday revealing their inability to establish communication with one of their exploration vehicles currently visiting the Titanic wreck site.

OceanGate's dives to the wreck employ a submarine named Titan, with individual seats priced at £250,000.

Among the passengers onboard is British businessman Hamish Harding, whose aviation company had previously shared news of his participation in the expedition on social media. The 58-year-old aviator, space tourist, and chairman of Action Aviation expressed his pride in joining OceanGate's Titanic mission via an Instagram post on Sunday. Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood are also in the vessel, reported AFP.

The search efforts are focused on a remote area of the North Atlantic, approximately 650 kilometres (400 miles) off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. The Titanic is at a depth of around 4,000 metres (13,000 feet) underwater. The US Coast Guard has dispatched two planes for search and rescue. Their Canadian counterparts are providing aerial support through a plane and a ship.

Rear Admiral John Mauger of the US Coast Guard on Monday said that he believed they still had 70 or more hours remaining. However, due to the absence of any sightings or communication signals from the vessel, search flights were temporarily halted for the day. The search efforts will continue overnight under the guidance of the US National Guard and the mission's operator.

The Titanic, a 46,000-tonne liner, infamously collided with an iceberg and sank during its maiden voyage from England to New York in April 1912. The tragic event killed over 1,500 people, including several tycoons and aristocrats. The wreckage was discovered in 1985 by a joint US-French expedition, deepening the fascination with the catastrophe.