Titanic tourist sub goes missing sparking search – BBC News

A submersible used to take people to view the wreck of the Titanic has gone missing in the Atlantic Ocean.

The Boston Coastguard told the BBC that a search and rescue operation was under way for it off the coast of Newfoundland.

It is unclear how many people, if any, were aboard when it went missing.

Small submersibles occasionally take paying tourists and experts to view the wreck of the Titanic, some 3,800m (12,500ft) beneath the ocean surface.

OceanGate Expeditions, a private company that deploys submersibles for deep sea expeditions, recently posted on its social media feeds that one of its expeditions was “under way”.

The company charges guests $250,000 (£195,270) for a place on its eight-day expedition to see the famous wreck. It has not commented on the reports or confirmed whether one of its submersibles is currently missing.

It bills the trip on its carbon-fibre submersible as a “chance to step outside of everyday life and discover something truly extraordinary”.

According to its website, one expedition is ongoing and two more have been planned for June 2024.

The submersible can seat five people, the company says, which usually includes a pilot, three paying guests, and what it calls one “content expert”.

A full dive to the wreck, including the decent and ascent, reportedly takes eight hours.

The BBC has contacted the company for comment.

The Titanic sits 3,800m (12,500ft) beneath the surface at the bottom of the Atlantic. It is about 600km (370 miles) off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.

The passenger liner, which was the largest ship of its time, hit an iceberg on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York in 1912. Of the 2,200 passengers and crew onboard, more than 1,500 died.

The Titanic has been extensively explored since the wreck was discovered in 1985.

It lies in two parts, with the bow and the stern separated by about 800m (2,600ft). A huge debris field surrounds the broken vessel.