The Coast Guard in Boston (Massachusetts) activated on Monday a search and rescue mission for the disappearance of a submarine in the Atlantic Ocean, off the Canadian coast of Newfoundland, which had traveled to explore the remains of the Titanic, according to CBS News and British public television (BBC). It has not been reported how many people were on board the submersible.
The Titanic sank in April 1912 at 12,500 feet (3,800 meters) deep in the Atlantic, about 370 miles (600 kilometers) off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, after hitting an iceberg on its maiden voyage from Southampton, United Kingdom, to New York. Of its 2,200 passengers and crew, more than 1,500 died.
The wreckage of the vessel was discovered in 1985. Small submersibles occasionally take tourists and experts on trips that cost tens of thousands of dollars and whose immersion phase and subsequent ascent last about eight hours.
Photograph of the Titanic sunk underwater. AP / Archive
One of the companies that has organized such a trip is OceanGate Expeditions. On his website and social media he recently posted that an expedition was underway about 400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland. But it has not been officially confirmed that it is the lost submarine.
Earlier this month, the company said on Twitter that it was using satellite company Starlink to communicate with the submersible on its way to the Titanic. "Despite being in the middle of the Atlantic, we have the internet connection we need to make our diving operations on the Titanic a success," he said.
The company's website advertises seven-night trips to see the wreckage of the Titanic at a price of $250,000.