In a race against time, two deep water robotic submarines are furiously navigating the 12,500ft depths of the Atlantic to locate the ill-fated Titan Five.
The Titan submersible vanished on Sunday while en route to the world-famous Titanic shipwreck, some 435 miles south of St John's, Newfoundland, with the last signal from its homing device reported on Sunday afternoon - directly above the infamous wreckage.
With estimations from the US Coast Guard stating that oxygen supplies in the vessel have run out at 12.08PM UK time (7.08am EST ), the world hopes against hope for a miracle, the Daily Mail reports.
Mysterious banging noises, sounding every half an hour from the depths of the search area, have yet to be traced to their source, further amplifying the tension of this underwater drama.
Adding to the deep-sea rescue fleet is the French research vessel L'Atalante, which arrived in the search zone around 2:00AM GMT. Onboard, it carries the Victor 6000, an advanced unmanned remote-controlled robot sub capable of reaching the crushing depths of 20,000ft.
This underwater device, equipped with cable-cutting arms and the ability to dislodge trapped or stranded vessels, could possibly be the lifeline the Titan needs, enabling rescuers to affix a cable to the sub before hauling it several miles to the surface.
The US Coastguard has confirmed that the French ROV has been deployed.
Additionally, the official Twitter page for the US Coastguard has confirmed that "the Canadian vessel Horizon Arctic has deployed an ROV that has reached the sea floor and began its search for the missing sub."
Nicknamed the Titan Five, the sub's occupants include British billionaire Hamish Harding, OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, French navy veteran PH Nargeolet, and Pakistani business tycoon Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman.
Above the depths of the Atlantic, a flotilla of at least ten ships, two robot subs, and multiple aircraft tirelessly scan for any sign of the Titan.
Guillermo Sohnlein, who co-founded OceanGate with Mr. Rush, believes that the window for finding the Titan could extend beyond midday, provided all five men remain calm and still. "I continue to hold out hope for my friend and the rest of the crew," he said, per CNN.
Despite identifying banging noises from the depths on Tuesday and Wednesday, search operations in the area have so far been fruitless. Navy Capt. David Marquet, a retired submarine captain, emphasized the grim circumstances the crew is likely facing in the near-freezing waters. "They're all huddled together trying to conserve their body heat. They're running low on oxygen and they're exhaling carbon dioxide," he explained.
Additionally, co-founder of OceanGate Guillermo Sohnlein wrote on Facebook on Thursday: "Today will be a critical day."
"I'm certain that Stockton [Rush] and the rest of the crew realized days ago that the best thing they can do to ensure their rescue is to extend the limits of those [oxygen] supplies by relaxing as much as possible," Sohnlein said. "I firmly believe that the time window available for their rescue is longer than what most people think."
As the world watches, we extend our thoughts to the rescuers in their desperate race against time.
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