(NEW YORK) — A submersible has gone missing while on a tour of the wreckage of the Titanic off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, according to a Coast Guard official.
The Coast Guard was notified Sunday afternoon that a vessel belonging to the deep-sea exploring company OceanGate was overdue, and crews immediately launched search and rescue operations, Rear Adm. John Mauger, U.S. Coast Guard 1st District Commander, told Fox News.
The capsule is advertised to have 96 hours of oxygen for survival, which “gives us some time to continue searching and continue to use all our means to try and locate the crew members,” Mauger said.
He noted that this is in a remote part of the Atlantic Ocean.
“This is on the site of a wreckage, the wreckage of the Titanic, and so there’s a lot of debris on the bottom and locating an object on the bottom will be difficult,” Mauger said.
“We have lives that are potentially at risk,” he said.
OceanGate confirmed Monday that it lost contact with a submersible.
“We are exploring and mobilizing all options to bring the crew back safely. Our entire focus is on the crewmembers in the submersible and their families,” OceanGate said in a statement. “We are working toward the safe return of the crewmembers.”
OceanGate’s website says it offers paying customers the opportunity to explore the wreckage of the Titanic. The website says it has five-person submersibles.
On April 14, 1912, the Titanic hit an iceberg on its maiden voyage from England to New York. Over 2,200 passengers and crew were on board, and more than 1,500 people died when the ship sank.
The ship wreckage was found in 1985, almost 12,500 feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean.
ABC News’ Josh Hoyos, Alex Faul and Nadine El-Bawab contributed to this report.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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