As the search for the missing submarine that was exploring the Titanic goes on, more details about those on board are emerging.
As previously reported, a submersible known as Titan has gone missing during an expedition that explores the wreckage of the Titanic.
The expedition operated by OceanGate stopped sending signals to the surface around an hour and 45 minutes after it plunged into the water on Sunday.
The story has gripped many across the world as there has been no contact with the vessel since, and there is widespread speculation as to its fate.
One of those on board has been identified as British billionaire Hamish Harding, and he had been documenting the days up to the expedition via his Instagram profile.
Just before boarding the submarine, Harding posted a final image, captioning it: "I am proud to finally announce that I joined @oceangateexped for their RMS TITANIC Mission as a mission specialist on the sub going down to the Titanic."
As reported by the Independent, the father-of-two has an interest in exploratory missions as he has been on Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin into space, as well as journeying into the ocean with Challenger Deep.
"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," Harding continued via Instagram.
He went on: "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 [04:00 AM] tomorrow morning. Until then we have a lot of preparations and briefings to do."
Harding concluded the eerie post by expressing his confidence in the team on board, as he called them "legendary explorers" and revealed that they had over 30 dives to the wreckage of the Titanic under their belt.
The wreckage of the Titanic lays at around 12,500 feet, as detailed by Sky News. The Titan has the ability to dive to a depth of around 13,100 feet.
It takes around two hours for the Titan to reach the Titanic, and every 15 minutes the vessel sends an alert to the surface to signify that it's okay.
Alarms were raised when the Titan stopped sending these signals, and a search led by the US Coast Guard is currently ongoing to locate those on board.
Alongside Harding, it is reported that the other four passengers were Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, alongside the two crew members Stockton Rush, founder and chief executive officer of OceanGate and French pilot Paul-Henry Nargeolet.
The UK Ministry of Defence is concerned about the depth at which the rescue operation may have to take place, as they have revealed that NATO's submarine rescue system (NSRS) is not able to operate at that depth safely.
There are hopes that the five people on board Titan are still alive, but rescuers are racing against the clock to locate them as they have less than 48 hours of oxygen remaining.
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