Diver on tragic Titanic expedition says remaining crew are ‘positive’ they’ll find friends on missing sub

‘I’m OK. We are all focussed on board here for our friends’

A diver on the surface ship of a missing submarine sent to observe the Titanic shipwreck has said he is “positive” they’ll find those in the underwater tourist vehicle.

The craft had submerged on Sunday morning and its support vessel, the Canadian research icebreaker Polar Prince, lost contact with it about an hour and 45 minutes later, authorities said.

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Irish diver Rory Golden posted an update with an assurance on his Facebook page.

“I’m OK. We are all focussed on board here for our friends,” he said. “We have a situation that is now part of a major search and rescue effort, being undertaken by major agencies. That is where our focus is right now.”

“The reaction and offers of help globally is truly astonishing, and only goes [on] to show the real goodness in people at a time like this. Thank you all, and think positive. We are,” he said.

The submersible used to explore the Titanic shipwreck in the Atlantic Ocean had gone missing off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, it was reported on Monday morning.

Rear admiral John Mauger, commander of the First US Coast Guard District, confirmed there was a search and rescue operation underway in the North Atlantic Ocean.

“We are doing everything that we can do to make sure that we can locate and rescue those on board,” Mr Mauger said.

The vessel, owned by OceanGate Expeditions, takes paying tourists to tour the Titanic shipwreck, among other deep-sea expeditions.

Five people are aboard, a coastguard official confirmed.

The official identified them as an operator and four mission specialists – a term the company reportedly uses for its passengers.

A British billionaire explorer and a renowned French diver are among those inside the missing submarine.

The sub reportedly has just a four-day emergency supply of oxygen.