Oxygen in Titan may have run out

The remaining oxygen in the Titan may have run out, according to US Coast Guard estimates, while search efforts have not yielded results.

The Titan submersible went missing on June 18 while carrying five people on a tour of the Titanic wreck at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, at a depth of nearly 4,000 meters, about 600 kilometers from Newfoundland, Canada . The US Coast Guard estimated that the Titan had enough oxygen for the five people for 96 hours since it went missing.

With this estimate, the five people on the Titan submersible ran out of oxygen at around 7:10 a.m. on June 22 (around 6:10 p.m. Hanoi time). Oxygen could run out sooner if the passengers panicked and breathed heavily, but it would take longer if they knew how to conserve oxygen in a confined space, according to experts.

The Titan submersible during a launch. Photo: OceanGate

However, all search efforts have so far been fruitless. The search area has been expanded to twice the area of ​​Connecticut, a US state with a territory of more than 13,000 square kilometers, but no trace of the Titan has been found.

Victor 6000, a deep-sea diving robot equipped on the French research vessel Atalante, has approached the wreck of the Titanic to join the search for the Titan submersible. The robot is capable of diving to a depth of 6,000 meters.

A spokesman for the French Institute for Marine Exploitation Research (IFREMER), which operates the Atalante, said the ship used a multibeam sounding device to create a map of the nearby seabed to aid the search.

Robert Larter, a marine expert at the British Antarctic Survey, said on June 22 that the Victor 6000 could be the "best hope" for the search for Titan.

Alistair Greig, professor of marine engineering at University College London, said the robot's two manipulator arms could untangle Titan or attach equipment to help the vessel surface.

Later warned that the search for the Titan submersible “could take weeks.” Even if rescue teams find the Titan, the rescue operation may have missed the golden window to save the lives of those inside.

David Gallo, senior advisor for Strategic Initiatives at RMS Titanic Inc, told CNN that finding the Titan could take a "miracle."

"Miracles can always happen. We can't always think about time and think that the faster the better," he said.

How the Titan submarine disappeared. Click on the image to see details

Gallo said the search for the missing Titan submersible in the Atlantic Ocean was difficult because the "ocean was pitch black" and had to rely on sound to locate the object.

A Canadian P-8 Poseidon surveillance aircraft recorded loud noises near the location of the missing Titan submersible every 30 minutes. Four hours later, they dropped more sonobuoys and the sound was still heard.

It is not yet clear where the noise originated, but French expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet said it could be "human noise", if it was indeed coming from the submersible.

Vnexpress.net