A submarine that takes tourists on expeditions to explore the remains of the wrecked ship Titanic went missing off the coast of southeastern Canada. OceanGate Expeditions, the private firm operating the five-seater submersible called Titan, declared the same in a statement released on Monday.
According to the statement, Oceangate has been "mobilizing all operations" in order to rescue the passengers on board. It further read, "We are deeply thankful for the extensive assistance we have received from several government agencies and deep sea companies in our efforts to reestablish contact with the submersible." Media reports suggested that the US Coast Guard has rolled out search-and-rescue operations for the same. At the time, the exact number of people missing were not clear.
The official website of Oceangate Expeditions noted that this would be its fifth mission of this year. It started at St. John's in Newfoundland last week, headed out 400 miles into the Atlantic to the site and was supposed to finish its trip this Thursday. The $250,000 expedition takes two hours to descend into the Titanic.
For the uninitiated, the Titanic was a British ship that struck an iceberg and sunk during its very first voyage in April 1912, killing over 1,500 people. Inspired by the unfortunate event, the director made the film Titanic in 1997, which later went on to become one of the films that received the highest number of Oscars in the history of cinema.
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