A former TV journalist has shared the terrifying moment he experienced while being trapped in a submarine within the wreckage of the Titanic.
A massive search and rescue operation is still under way in the mid Atlantic after a tourist submarine went missing during a dive to Titanic's wreck on Sunday with five people inside.
Michael Guillen, a former ABC science editor, revealed his harrowing encounter during a visit to the iconic ship's remains in the year 2000.
Dr. Guillen shared his experience while reflecting on the current situation, emphasizing the dangers involved in exploring such deep-sea wrecks.
His trip to the Titanic in the Mir 1 submersible, which was built in 1987, took him approximately two and a half miles beneath the surface of the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Newfoundland.
Recalling the incident, Dr. Guillen explained that their submersible became ensnared in a strong underwater current that forcefully propelled them toward the Titanic's massive 21-ton propellers.
Writing in his 2021 book Believing is Seeing, Dr Guillen said: "It seemed to me we were heading toward it [the propeller] too fast - and, worse, accelerating.
"Later, I learned that our sub accidentally got caught in a fast-moving, deep-underwater current. A split-second later, Mir 1 slammed into the Titanic's propeller.
"I felt the shock of the collision: rusty debris showered down on our submersible, obscuring my view through the porthole."
Footage from that time captures a voice asking, "So are we stuck or what?" as the submersible became wedged under the stern of the ship.
Fortunately, the team managed to maneuver the submersible free and bring it back to the surface. However, Dr. Guillen admitted that the accident had left him shaken, confessing that it had "almost claimed my life."
Rescue teams are in a race against time to find a submersible tourist vessel which went missing during a voyage to the Titanic shipwreck off the coast of Canada, with a British billionaire among five people aboard.
There may be as little as 56 hours of emergency oxygen left aboard the submersible, named Titan, which lost communication with tour operators on Sunday while about 435 miles south of St John’s, Newfoundland.
Rear Admiral John W Mauger of the US Coast Guard said they are doing “everything” they can to find the submersible, saying it has one pilot and four mission specialists aboard with up to 96 hours of emergency oxygen on board.
“We anticipate that there’s somewhere between 70 to the full 96 hours at this point,” he said on Monday. “It is a remote area and a challenge, but we are deploying all available assets.”
