What a terrible, terrible thing, those poor people must be terrified and their friends and families too. How horrific it would be not knowing and not being able to help them
I pray they’re OK but it doesn’t sound hopeful
I’m amazed this company only has one sub and not a second, rescue one, they could send to see what’s happened and maybe help?
Apparently, an underwater rescue attempt would, in all likelihood, be impossible:
Submarine expert Prof Alistair Greig from University College London has worked through a number of scenarios for where the missing submersible might be, he told BBC Science Correspondent Pallab Ghosh.
One is that it released a “drop weight” after an emergency, in order to bring it to the surface.
“If there was a power failure and/or communication failure, this might have happened, and the submersible would then be bobbing about on the surface waiting to be found,” he said.
Another scenario, he says, is that the hull was compromised resulting in a leak. “Then the prognosis is not good.”
If it has gone down to the seabed and can’t get back up under its own power, the options - according to Prof Greig - are very limited.
“While the submersible might still be intact, if it is deeper than more than 200m (656ft) there are very few vessels that can get that deep, and certainly not divers. The vehicles designed for navy submarine rescue certainly can’t get down to anywhere near the depth of the Titanic.”
The BBC’s US partner CBS sent one of its reporters on a voyage with the same company last year to see the wreck of the Titanic.
David Pogue, who went on board, reported that he read a waiver that described the submersible as an “experimental” vessel, “that has not been approved or certified by any regulatory body, and could result in physical injury, disability, emotional trauma or death”.
I hope they can be saved and returned to their families. Very sad to lose a loved one this way…Adrenalin has a lot to answer for…Where would we be in the world if the excitement of adventure and exploration was not allowed.
However, I noted that in a world beset by global warming Newfoundland is experiencing it’s coldest winter on record, and because of this, it was the last dive possible this year…
BBC News has been speaking to marine scientist and expedition leader David Mearns, who has been keeping a close eye on developments off Newfoundland.
He tells us that a commercial pipe-laying ship has arrived in the area where the submersible was last reported, and says this is welcome news.
“Just in the last hour or so… another commercial vessel, a very capable pipe laying vessel, modern ship, with ROV (remotely operated underwater vehicle) capabilities, is actually over the site now and we’re just hoping that it has the capabilities to reach those kind of depths – 3,800 metres – to search for the submersible and have the ability to recover it. There is some hope that that could happen.”
So the Titanic is still able to claim lives (hopefully not!) after all these years
You couldn’t pay me to go in a tourist sub or any other kind of sub either . Too claustrophobic 
How terrifying for the occupants of the sub and gut-wrenchingly worrying for their family and friends waiting for news as the hours and days pass.
If the vessel is still intact and the crew and passengers are still alive, they don’t have long left on the oxygen supply. It doesn’t bear thinking about.
I can only hope that the vessel is located and they are alive and rescued before time runs out.
Wrong again Foxy.
These records go back to 1874, with some years missing data. The lowest temperature measured during that time was -29 degrees Celsius (-21 Fahrenheit) on February 16, 1875. Since 1942 the temperature extremes were observed at the St. John’s Airport.
The weather station operated from 1943 to 1966. The temperature plummeted to -63°C (-81.4°F) on February 3, 1947, the coldest temperature in Canada’s history, and a record-breaking low for all of North America.
An update with no news. This one has a few more pictures of some of the people in the sub. 48 hours of oxygen left if they haven’t made it to the surface.
A poor comparison perhaps but there’s almost something Apollo 13 about this.
Hope those poor souls get back home.
Don’t shoot the messenger Chelsea…It was reported in the link Omah posted…
Quote:-
On social media at the weekend, Mr Harding said he was “proud to finally announce” that he would be aboard the mission to the wreck of the Titanic - but added that because of the “worst winter in Newfoundland in 40 years, this mission is likely to be the first and only manned mission to the Titanic in 2023”.
The US Navy is also sending a salvage system to assist with the submersible, with equipment and service people arriving in Newfoundland on Tuesday night.
A Navy spokesperson said: “The navy is sending subject matter experts and a Flyaway Deep Ocean Salvage System (FADOSS), motion compensated lift system designed to provide reliable deep ocean lifting capacity for the recovery of large, bulky, and heavy undersea objects such as aircraft or small vessels.”
40 hours of air left … 
They need to get their skates on because it will take some time to depressurise the sub as they bring it to the surface.
I hope they survive of course but I think it’s disgusting that a scene of such tragedy should be a new tourist attraction for the super rich,The Titanic should be left to Rust in Peace.If they want to show off their money they should take a trip to Mars.(or even further away)
They had a lot of snow last year which doesn’t equate to having their worst winter.
OceanGate seems to have ignored safety risks as is revealed in a letter published by the NY Times.
It seems somebody had the same thought … 
Ship with life-saving chamber en route
More help is on the way. The Royal Canadian Navy ship HMCS Glace Bay is expected to arrive at the scene of the search on Thursday at midday local time.
Onboard the ship is a medical team specialising in dive medicine, and a six-person mobile hyperbaric recompression chamber.
If the sub is located, the recompression chambers on board this ship can be used to treat or prevent decompression sickness. When divers are exposed to rapid decreases in pressure, nitrogen forms bubbles in tissue and blood.
I do think that too many rules and regulations stifle the excitement of a challenge Dachs. However, if you are offering the service to the general public it must be safe.
Why does it not have a tracker on/in it ?.
I do hope they are found alive and well.
GPS does work underwater but:
When the Titan is submerged, communications with the support ship on the surface are conducted over an acoustic link. Crewed submersibles sometimes have two separate systems with independent power supplies: one an acoustic beacon that regularly pings the ship to reveal its location, and another that can carry short text-like messages. This ensures that if the main power supply fails, the beacon keeps working, allowing the surface ship to track the vessel. According to some reports, the Titan did not have an acoustic beacon and had become lost before.
Presumably, there must have been some electrical/comms failure on board the sub and it may well have drifted from the last point of contact.
