An eerie TikTok video apparently capturing the missing Titan submersible moments before its ill-fated journey towards the Titanic wreckage has surfaced amidst the frantic search for the missing vessel.
The video, seemingly shot from the deck of the Polar Prince - Titan's launch ship - shows the submersible perched on a platform amidst the hauntingly foggy expanse of the North Atlantic, as reported by Indy100. The video was shared by Abbi Jackson, an underwater photographer who often updates her followers about her work on her TikTok channel.
The Titan and its five crew members - British billionaire Hamish Harding, businessman Shahzada Dawood, his son Suleman Dawood, French submersible pilot Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and OceanGate's CEO Stockton Rush - have been missing since June 18.
The life-sustaining oxygen supply within the submarine is dwindling rapidly, sparking a race against time to find the missing submersible.
The submersible lost communication roughly 435 miles south of St John's, Newfoundland, leading to a colossal search spearheaded by the US Coast Guard. The depth of the journey is reportedly 13,000 feet.
Despite the ominous dwindling of oxygen projected to run out around midday UK time, the rescue operations remain undeterred.
The disquieting video - uploaded with the caption; "Watching a submarine go down to the Titanic" - appears to offer a chilling snapshot of the Titan before its disappearance. Check it out below:
The video shows Jackson smiling as the vessel departs into the vast Atlantic.
The OceanGate Expeditions vessel, measuring 6.7m (22ft) long, reportedly carried a 96-hour oxygen supply when it launched for its journey to the renowned Titanic wreck off the Canadian coast.
The frantic search escalated after underwater "banging" noises were detected on Tuesday and Wednesday. However, experts such as former US Navy submarine commander David Marquet are still uncertain about the source of the sound.
Marquet told BBC News: "I don’t think the noise is them, it could just be natural sounds. We’re hearing noises and more ships are coming into the area, and then we’re hearing more noises, and I don’t think that’s a coincidence."
The search and rescue operations involve a combination of ROVs (remotely operated underwater vehicles) and side-scan sonar technology that can render images of vast sea floor sections. Teams from the United States, Canada, and France have scoured over 10,000 square miles (25,900 square km) of the open sea in their search efforts - an area exceeding the total size of Wales.
The search area has also been expanded to around 14,000 square miles - twice the size of Connecticut.
Despite the grim circumstances, rescue teams, led by the US Coast Guard, are determined to "do everything in their power to effect a rescue," with Coast Guard Captain Jamie Frederick highlighting the complex and challenging nature of the ongoing operation.
Our thoughts go out to everybody impacted by this dire situation and to those involved in the rescue operation.