BOSTON, Mass. (CNN) – An urgent search and rescue operation is underway to find a missing submarine that was taking passengers on a tour to see the wreckage of the Titanic.
It went missing Sunday about 435 miles south of St. John’s, Newfoundland. Rescue crews in Canada and the U.S. are desperately searching for the submarine by air and by boat.
Time is running out for rescue crews to find the missing sub carrying five passengers.
U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger said, “We are doing everything we can do to make sure that we can locate and rescue those on board.”
The OceanGate Exhibition sub left St. John’s Sunday and was headed to explore the Titanic’s wreckage when it vanished deep in the North Atlantic Ocean.
The ruins of the iconic ship are roughly 2.4 miles from the ocean’s surface. It’s a few hundred miles south of Newfoundland and about 900 miles off the coast of Boston.
Rear Admiral Mauger said, “It is a challenge to conduct the search in that remote area.”
When the tourist group didn’t return Sunday night, a search and rescue operation was immediately launched.
We’re now learning more about the five passengers trapped inside the vessel. Among them is Hamish Harding, a man friends describe as an explorer.
Jannicke Mikkelsen explained, “He is an explorer to the core of his soul. My fear is that they cannot self-rescue and appear to the surface.”
Less than two hours into the tour, they lost communication. A search and rescue operation was immediately launched.
Rescue crews in Canada and the U.S. Are using sonar technology to try and locate the submersible.
They’re also launching searches by air.
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