Submarine with tourists exploring Titanic wreckage disappears in Atlantic Ocean

Photo: Michel Boutefeu/Getty Images

A submarine carrying five tourists to see the remains of the Titanic has disappeared in the waters of the AtlanticA spokesman for the Boston Coast Guard (Massachusetts, United States) told the British newspaper The Guardian.

According to that source, "a small submarine with five people on board has disappeared near the site of the Titanic wreck."

The British channel BBC and the American CBS were the first to report on the disappearance of the submarine and ongoing search and rescue operations. Neither the BBC nor CBS have information on the number of missing people.

Several companies organize multi-day trips to see the wreckage of the Titanic, which is located at a depth of about 3,800 meters and at a distance of about 640 kilometers from the Canadian island of Newfoundland.

Ocean Gate Expeditionsa company that organizes this type of expeditions, confirmed this Monday in a statement that his submarine was the one that had disappeared and explained that they were doing everything they could to bring the crew back.

“All our attention is on the submarine crew members and their families.“OceanGate Expeditions stated in its statement.

The company said it has had "extensive assistance" from various government agencies and other companies in trying to re-establish contact with the submarine.

OceanGate Expeditions is the only company that has a submarine, called "Titan", who is able to reach the bottom of the ocean to see the wreckage of the Titanic up close. The submarine used by that company usually has a crew of five people.

The company had recently announced on its website and social networks that there was an expedition "underway" to see the remains of the Titanic.

On June 14, the company said on Twitter that it was using the communications company Starlink to keep the line of communication open with the expedition headed for the Titanic.

On the company's website, seven-day voyages to see the wreckage of the Titanic are advertised for about $250,000.

With information from Efe.

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