An Irish explorer who is part of the Titanic expedition has confirmed he is 'ok' after five people have gone missing in a tourist submarine.
Rory Golden, who was the first Irish diver to visit the wreckage of the Titanic in 2000, is the on-board Titanic expert for Ocean Gate Expeditions - the company which takes paying tourists to view the famous wreck.
The Dubliner is part of the crew of this year's OceanGate Expedition and is on board the main ship located in the north Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Newfoundland.
There are five people feared missing after a tourist submarine 12,500ft underwater on a Titanic tour lost communication with the mothership just one hour and 45 minutes in the dive on Sunday.
The US Coastguard are in a race against time to find the OceanGate Expeditions vessel, which may just have 50 to 70 hours of air left and was just above the shipwreck when communications went down.
Rory took to social media to reassure his friends and family that he was safe and said the crew are focused on the rescue mission at hand and are "thinking positive".
He wrote on Facebook: "I'm OK.
"We are all focussed on board here for our friends. Please do not ask for their names, as this is most insensitive. Please do not speculate. I have seen some comments already on social media that are highly inappropriate and insensitive.
"I really want to thank everyone who has been trying to Message and WhatsApp me. We have a situation that is now the part of a major Search and Rescue effort, being undertaken by major agencies. That is where our focus is right now.
"The reaction and offers of help globally is truly astonishing, and only goes to show the real goodness in people at a time like this. Our online and internet options are being restricted in order to keep bandwidth available for the co-ordinated effort that is taking place, so please bear that in mind too.
"Thank you all, and think positive. We are."
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