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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
World
Anita McSorley & Liam Buckler

Heartbreak as oxygen deadline for missing Titanic submarine passes

A missing Titanic submarine has tragically not been found as the deadline for oxygen running out has now passed.

Search and rescue teams continue to search for the OceanGate Expeditions vessel, which has five people on board.

The submersible, called Titan, was supposed to reach the bottom of the sea to view the Titanic shipwreck on Sunday, but it lost contact around one hour and 45 minutes after being submerged.

It had four-days of oxygen and a US coast guard spokesperson previously said it will run out at exactly 7.08am US time - 12.08pm in Ireland - today.

READ MORE: 5 Titanic submarine warning signs missed before it got lost in ocean with crew on board

Rescue teams are frantically searching for Pakistani British-based businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son, Sulaiman Dawood, French submersible pilot Paul-Henry Nargeolet, and chief executive and founder of OceanGate Expeditions, Stockton Rush.

The US Coast Guard said it was deploying two remotely operated vehicles, which is now on the seabed, Mirror UK reports.

The French government-backed vessel is about to deploy its own ROV, Victor 6000, into the ocean, the Coast Guard said.

The Horizon Artic ship arrived at the site of Titanic wreckage last night after travelling 650 kilometers overnight across the Atlantic Ocean from St John's port on the eastern Canadian coast to help join the frantic search.

The ship arrived with heavy duty cables and it was reported to be the last major support vessel to arrive before the oxygen on the vessel runs out, according to the US Coast Guard.

The Horizon Arctic set off to become the last main vessel involved in the desperate mission after the Canadian P-3 aircraft had picked up "banging" noises to try and locate the origin of the noises after US Coast Guard confirmed it had heard the sounds on Tuesday night and into Wednesday.

Rear Admiral John Mauger revealed yesterday it was unclear if the banging came from the submersible, as the noise was the "focus" of the mission.

Undated handout photo issued by issued by Action Aviation of the OceanGate Expeditions vessel used to the wreckage site of the Titanic. (PA)

Mr Mauger revealed they "don't know the source of that noise" but have reported the data with the US Navy. However, an initial attempt to locate the submarine had “yielded negative results.”

A US Coast Guard official said the efforts to find the vessel remained a “search and rescue mission, 100 percent.”

According to Dr Simon Boxall, who teaches oceanography at the University of Southampton, there are "so many variables" in terms of how long the oxygen could last.

He told NBC News: "There are so many variables. We have no idea how long they will actually last in terms of oxygen — all that we know is that it's imminent.

"It's not like" at 7.08 a.m. the rescuers will "pack up their bags and say, 'Right, we'll do a recovery operation, but we're taking the urgency off," he said. "They will still see this as being very urgent for next couple of days."

Former Royal Navy submarine captain Ryan Ramsey described the current situation as "bleak".

He told the PA news agency: "The outlook is bleak, that's the only word for it, as this tragic event unfolds and almost the closing stages of where this changes from rescue to a salvage mission.

"That doesn't mean to say that the current ships and forces deployed won't continue to keep looking.

"They won't stop for many days, I imagine, but the reality is if you base it off oxygen alone, then they're out of oxygen.

"Carbon dioxide is also a critical element to it as well as the cold. It would be a miracle if there were survivors from it."

The Titan was launched from an icebreaker that was hired by OceanGate and formerly operated by the Canadian Coast Guard.

The ship has ferried dozens of people and the submersible craft to the North Atlantic wreck site, where the Titan has made multiple dives.

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