'Rescue Request' Heard from Missing Submersible... Remaining Oxygen Lasts 3 Days

Sound Detected in Sonar Search Operation
Remaining Oxygen Lasts Only 3-4 Days at Most
Search Underway Using Aircraft and Ships

It has been reported that rescuers heard a distress signal from the missing Titanic tourist submarine 'Titan.' Currently, it is known that the submarine has only about 3 to 4 days' worth of oxygen left.

Searching for Missing Submarine Using Sonar... Survival Signal Detected

Titanic exploration submersible 'Titan' [Image source=OceanGate Expeditions]

On the 20th (local time), CNN cited a related report from the U.S. government involved in the submarine search to report this. According to the media, U.S. military authorities used sonar to search for the submarine and confirmed several times the sound of someone knocking on the submarine. It is presumed that the missing persons are sending rescue signals by knocking on the submarine.

However, authorities have not yet located the missing submarine. As of this date, the submarine is reported to have stored up to 92 hours of oxygen.

The submarine 'Titan' sank on the 18th. Titan was a tourist submarine that explored the sunken Titanic and was operated by the deep-sea tourism company OceanGate Expeditions.

The tour involves observing the hull of the Titanic, which sank about 4,000 meters below the Atlantic Ocean, and observing the surrounding flora and fauna. The fee for the tour reaches $250,000 (approximately 320 million KRW). British billionaire businessman and explorer Hamish Harding was also aboard the missing submarine.

Military authorities, including the U.S. Coast Guard, are cooperating with Canadian authorities and deploying ships and aircraft on a large scale to search for the Titan. Regarding this, the U.S. Coast Guard stated, "Communication was lost about 1,450 km east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts," and "U.S. and Canadian authorities are conducting aerial and surface search operations."

Was the Titan Incident Man-Made? "Did Not Follow Safety Standards" Claims

The wreckage of the Titanic sunk at a depth of 4000m. [Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, there are claims that this accident may be a 'man-made disaster' caused by the company's negligence. According to the U.S. media outlet The New York Times (NYT), in 2018, the Marine Technology Society (MTS) Manned Submersible Committee sent a warning letter to OceanGate executives stating that there was a possibility of catastrophic problems caused by the submarine due to inadequate safety issues.

The company reportedly portrayed Titan as meeting the safety standards of risk assessment agencies. However, Titan had never been evaluated by the relevant agencies, and experts pointed out that this was "misleading."

Will Cohen, chairman of the MTS committee, told the NYT in an interview, "The submarine industry had serious concerns about building submersibles for deep-sea exploration without following safety guidelines," adding, "After sending the letter, I spoke with the CEO, who responded by saying 'regulations stifle innovation.'"

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.