Submarine Exploring Titanic Wreckage Goes Missing, ‘Search And Rescue’ By Coast Guard Has Begun

A U.S. Coast Guard search and rescue mission began on Monday morning for a submarine that went missing while exploring the wreckage of the Titanic in the North Atlantic. The submarine was part of a tour to explore the remnants of the iconic ship, located approximately 900 nautical miles east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, but it did not return on Sunday.

OceanGate Expeditions, the company that sent out the manned submarine for the deep-sea mission said in a statement that it was “exploring and mobilizing all options to bring the crew back safely.” The company did not reveal how many people were on board or whether any of them were tourists paying to be on the expedition.

OceanGate’s most recent tweet about the journey was last week. It remains unclear if the missing crew is pictured in one of the photos shown below.

The company’s submersible, The Titan, is the only five-person sub in the world that can reach the wreckage of the Titanic. The ship is located 2.4 miles below the sea surface.

The Titanic was an 883-foot ship that was believed to be “unsinkable.” But it hit ice in the Atlantic Ocean in 1912 and sank, killing more than 1,500 people. The remnants of the ocean liner were discovered in 1985 and have since led to a tourism industry. OceanGate’s tours are 10 days and include 18 dives to a depth of 12,800 feet. Enthusiasts pay as much as $250,000 to join the expedition.