According to the U.S. Coast Guard, the oxygen supply aboard the missing submarine, Titan, is believed to have run out on Thursday afternoon, fueling growing anxieties over the fate of its crew.
OceanGate, the firm that operates the submarine, previously stated that in an emergency, the submarine’s oxygen supply could sustain life for up to 96 hours.
The Titan submarine, with a five-member crew aboard, disappeared shortly after beginning its descent on Sunday. Its destination was the shipwreck of the ill-fated “Titanic,” which sank in 1912 after colliding with an iceberg. The wreckage rests nearly 3,810 meters below the ocean’s surface.
The submarine is lost in an isolated area of the Atlantic Ocean. In response, an international coalition of rescue teams has been rigorously searching a vast area of the ocean for any signs of the missing vessel.
The U.S. Coast Guard reported that Canadian aircraft, equipped with submarine detection capabilities, have picked up noises in the area. According to American media sources, these sounds include intermittent knocking sounds at thirty-minute intervals.
Even if the precise location of the submarine is established, retrieving it will pose a colossal logistical challenge due to the extreme depths and harsh underwater conditions.
Measuring 6.7 meters in length, the Titan initiated its deep-sea journey on Sunday morning. It lost contact with the mother ship on the surface during what should have been a two-hour dive.
The Titanic, which sank on its maiden voyage in 1912 after striking an iceberg, lies approximately 1,450 kilometers east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA, and 644 kilometers south of St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada.
