OceanGate Titanic rescue team have one plea for the public

Rescuers searching for the missing OceanGate submarine that lost communication during an expedition to the Titanic wreckage have called on the public’s help to assist the mission

The submarine lost communication one hour and 45 minutes into the dive with five passengers on board, while the vessel is believed to have 96 hours of oxygen reserves left.

The UK foreign office revealed it is in communication with the families of three British nationals involved in the missing Titan submersible, one of whom is believed to be the billionaire Hamish Harding.

Among the other passengers are believed to be Shahzada Dawood, 48, a billionaire from Pakistan, and his 19-year-old son.

Explorer David Concannon revealed in a Facebook statement that he was due to be onboard the vessel, but had to cancel last minute due to “another urgent client matter”.

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Concannon “immediately agreed” to be part of the ongoing search and rescue mission and has made a plea to the public to help the mission go as smoothly as possible.

He urged people concerned about the welfare of himself and those onboard to “stop texting, messaging, and sending all other forms of communication during this critical time”.

Continuing, he wrote: “You are interfering with more important communications that need to be made to resolve this situation as quickly and as safely as possible. Thank you! David.”

UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly addressed the situation regarding the missing vessel during a news briefing about Ukraine.

Cleverly said: “We wish them all the luck and of course, we hope that they will be swiftly found and returned to their loved ones.”

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