The video shows the moment the OceanGate Expeditions submersible began its doomed journey to the wreck of the Titanic in selfie images posted on TikTok.
Abbi Jackson, a 22-year-old videographer employed by the company aboard the mothership, Polar Prince, shared the short video before the ship disappeared.
The post, captioned “watching a submarine descend towards the Titanic”, moves away from the deck of the ship to show Titan on the surface of the Atlantic Ocean from some distance away.
Miss Jackson also filmed one of the submarine’s passengers, Paul Henri Nargeolet, who was nicknamed “Mr Titanic” for visiting the wreck 37 times. The 77-year-old is seen sitting on the side of an inflatable boat before waving and smiling at the camera.
Miss Jackson has since shared her thoughts on the missing submarine on Instagram, where she thanked well-wishers for their concern and asked them to pray for the five people still missing under the Atlantic.
Abbi Jackson, a 22-year-old videographer on the mothership, Polar Prince, shared video of the Titan (seen here just to the left of her camera) moments before it plunged underwater
Also on board were British billionaire explorer Hamish Harding, 58, British businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his son Sulaiman Dawood, 19, and OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush.
At 9:45 a.m. – an hour and 45 minutes into the dive – he lost contact with his mothership, the Polar Prince.
But it wasn’t reported missing to the US Coast Guard until 5:40 p.m., eight hours later. The Canadian Coast Guard was not alerted until later – 9:13 p.m. Sunday evening.
Now experts say the crew – who were estimated on Tuesday to have around 40 hours of oxygen left, had only a one per cent chance of survival.
“If I was advising the Prime Minister, I would say his odds are 1%,” former US Navy nuclear submarine commander Lt. David Marquet said this morning.
Last year, the Titan lost communications with the mothership for two hours during a similar dive. He resurfaced and the incident was jokingly documented by a CBS reporter who was on board at the time.
Five vessels located in search area
There are currently five vessels located in the search area above the Titanic wreckage, according to marine tracking data.
There are also four other vessels listed by the US Coast Guard visiting the area, Sky reports.
Ships currently at the wreck site are Polar Prince, Deep Energy, Atlantic Merlin, Skandi Vinland and CGS Cabot.
Those described as “en route” include the Canadian CGS Ann Harvey, the Canadian CGS Terry Fox, the Motor Vessel Horizon Arctic and the French Research L’Atalante.
The company has yet to explain why it took so long to alert the Coast Guard when the Titan lost communications on Sunday.
In a statement on Tuesday, he said: “For some time we have been unable to establish communication with one of our submersible exploration vehicles which is currently visiting the Titanic wreck site.
“We are fully focused on the welfare of the crew and every possible measure is being taken to bring all five crew members back safely.
“We are deeply grateful for the urgent and extensive assistance we are receiving from several government agencies and ocean-going companies as we seek to re-establish contact with the submersible.
“We are praying for the safe return of crew and passengers, and will provide updates as they become available.”
“We haven’t even found them yet. If we did, I would raise it to 15%.
“It’s dark – I don’t want to say it but I try to be realistic.
‘Miracles happen [like the Thai boys who were lost in a cave in 2015] but that’s a different situation.
“It’s a desperate race against time.”
Paul Henri Nargeolet – nicknamed Mr Titanic’ – (left) is believed to be taking part in the expedition, with OceanGate Expedition CEO Stockton Rush (right)
He likened it to trying to find a “minivan” in the ship’s massive wreckage.
‘The problem is most likely at the bottom at this point as it hasn’t been found on the surface and it doesn’t seem to be making any noise so that leads me to a pessimistic thought process which they are unable to turn on the shell.
“We then talk about trying to find a van among the wreckage of the Titanic.
“Once they find it, we have to bring it to the surface, which means either freeing it if it’s lodged in the Titanic somehow.
‘Or more likely they lost the ability [to surface]so we have to hoist them, which requires a vessel with a 2.5 mile long cable.
“The hardest part will be getting into it. It’s like that arcade game, except you can’t see, so paint the walls black and make it 2.5 miles long – and there’s wind in there, so it blows.
“All is not lost yet as they still have oxygen but… imagine the submarine is on the far side of the moon – that’s a better representation.”
‘Even if you find it, how do you get it back? They can’t open it from the inside – it’s locked from the outside.
Marquet lamented that there were few other ships – if any – capable of diving to 12,500 feet to save them.
“The United States and the Royal Navy have a long history of operating submarines and they don’t go as far as these guys. They are in uncharted territory. If our submarines went that far, everyone would be dead.
“The submarine would rupture – there would be a crack in the hull, or a pipe would burst, it would fill with water and sink to the bottom. And the pressure… everyone would die.
“At this pressure, it is 400 times the pressure of sea level. It is difficult to conceive
“It would take all the air out of a room and collapse it to the size of a trash can. At those pressures, if there was a leak, they would be dead before they knew it.
Aaron Amick, an entrepreneur and US Navy veteran, echoed his concerns.
“I know everyone is waiting for the US Navy to save the day, but our rescue submarine is limited to 2,000 feet deep.”
‘There is no one who can reach the Titan who can save Titan. Her only hope is to find a way to the surface on her own where we can help her,” he said.
Amick compared the Titan to a “tomb” dropped into the water with no emergency breathing apparatus on board.
“They basically lock 5 people in a grave and put it at the bottom. The crew never had a chance,” he said, adding that occupants can only get out if they are on the surface.
He said he imagined the submarine was “sitting on the bottom”, well out of reach.
“Loss of power or structural failure are my two best guesses. Both? Sitting at the bottom anyway,” he said.
Rear Admiral John Mauger, who is coordinating the search, said on Tuesday that crews had been working “around the clock” to locate him.
“This is a complex case and the Coast Guard does not have all the resources to be able to perform this type of rescue, although it is an area of our search area,” he said. he said Tuesday morning during an appearance on Good Morning America. .
OceanGate is in charge of underwater research, he said.
The company did not provide details on when the vessel went missing, or when it was reported to the Coast Guard.