News channel slammed for 'oxygen countdown' for missing Titanic submarine

A US news channel has been slammed for its "insensitive and disrespectful" live 'oxygen countdown' display for the missing Titanic submarine.

The OceanGate craft lost connection one hour and 45 minutes into the Titanic wreckage expedition on Sunday (18 June).

Aboard the missing vessel are British billionaire explorer Hamish Harding, renowned French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and OceanGate founder Stockton Rush, along with Surrey-based businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Sulaiman Dawood.

As the world tunes in for news updates on the missing craft's whereabouts, there's one cable channel that has sparked backlash for their coverage with an 'oxygen remaining' timer in the corner of the broadcast.

People were quick to turn to Twitter over News Nation's approach, with one writing: "That's insane, they really have no shame."

"They counting down like it’s the Super Bowl man wtf," another wrote, while a third added: "I feel like we are in a Black Mirror episode."

One Twitter user noted: "They actin like its New Years Eve and the ball bout to drop."

Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

News Nation

It comes after rescuers race around the clock to locate the missing sub.

Former Royal Navy Rear Admiral, Chris Parry told The Mirrorthat there are two possibilities.

"There’s an optimistic option," he said, "that it’s either lost an umbilical communication with the surface or indeed there’s been a malfunction and the submarine continues to operate but obviously out of contact with its mother ship."

He went on to suggest that "there could have been an accident."

Chris explained: "It could have become entangled in the wreckage of the Titanic. It could indeed have had a catastrophic failure."

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.