Missing billionaires: Here’s the latest as search enters decisive hours

Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate, the company that operates the vessel, is also on it.

In Summary
  • Rescue officials say they have to remain "optimistic and hopeful" - 10 extra ships and several remote submarines will join the search today, more than doubling operations
  • But the captain leading the search has also said: "We don't know where they are, to be frank with you"
The submarine that went missing on Sunday
The submarine that went missing on Sunday
Image: OCEANGATE EXPEDITIONS

A search and rescue mission at the Atlantic Ocean for the missing billionaires is still on.

This is after a private submarine went missing while on an expedition to explore the wreckage of the Titanic.

The five passengers on board are British businessman Hamish Harding, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his teenage son, Suleman, and French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet.

Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate, the company that operates the vessel, is also on it.

Here is where rescue efforts stand:

  • The US Coast Guard has estimated oxygen could run out for those on board in the next several hours, based on previous estimates
  • Rescue officials say they have to remain "optimistic and hopeful" - 10 extra ships and several remote submarines will join the search today, more than doubling operations
  • But the captain leading the search has also said: "We don't know where they are, to be frank with you"
  • The search site has expanded because of sounds detected on Tuesday and Wednesday. It now covers an area twice the size of Connecticut and a sub-surface area 2.5 miles (4km) deep
  • It's not clear whether the noises came from the sub
  • The Polar Prince - the research vessel the Titan was launched from - will remain the command centre for the search, sitting near the Titanic wreck site
  • Camera-equipped remote-controlled vehicles (ROVs) will be scanning the depths of the seafloor throughout the day.
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