A British adventurer is among those aboard a submarine which has gone missing near the wreckage of the Titanic.
Hamish Harding, chairman of private plane firm Action Aviation, is understood to be aboard the five-person OceanGate Expeditions vessel which was reported overdue on Sunday evening about 435 miles south of St John’s, Newfoundland.
A major search and rescue operation being led by the US Coast Guard and involving military aircraft is under way.
On social media at the weekend, Mr Harding said he was “proud to finally announce” that he would be aboard the mission to the wreck of the Titanic – but added that due to the “worst winter in Newfoundland in 40 years, this mission is likely to be the first and only manned mission to the Titanic in 2023”.
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He continued: “A weather window has just opened up and we are going to attempt a dive tomorrow.
“We started steaming from St Johns, Newfoundland, Canada yesterday and are planning to start dive operations around 4am tomorrow morning. Until then we have a lot of preparations and briefings to do.”
OceanGate Expeditions said its focus was on those aboard the vessel and their families.
“We are deeply thankful for the extensive assistance we have received from several government agencies and deep sea companies in our efforts to re-establish contact with the submersible,” the company said in a statement.
“We are working toward the safe return of the crew members.”
