BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS: With chances of survival diminishing, many are now fearing the worst! One of the five crew members aboard the tourist submersible is believed to be world-renowned diver Paul-Henry Nargeolet. The veteran has served in the French Navy for decades and has massive experience. Presently, the Boston Coast Guard is carrying out a search and rescue operation after the tourist submersible which was responsible for transporting people to the Titanic wreckage has gone missing.
The submersible is said to have the strength of carrying five people, but it is not sure how many were aboard at the time. According to Daily Mail, OceanGate Expeditions is the only company that presently offers underwater tours which costs $250,000, per person. In an interview back in 2019, he said, “If you are 11 miles down, if something bad happens, the result is the same. When you're in very deep water, you're dead before you realize that something is happening, so it's just not a problem." The expert was bluntly talking about working 2.5 miles underwater and around 370 miles from Newfoundland.
Who is PH Nargeolet?
The French explorer, PH Nargeolet, is a pre-eminent expert on the Titanic who has been part of hundreds of expeditions to the ship’s wreckage. The 77-year-old is a former commander in the French Navy and is touted as a world-leading expert on the Titanic wreckage. During his French duty, he was elevated to the rank of the captain of the deep submergence group of the navy.
After leaving behind his navy service, he went on to join the French Institute for Research and Exploitation of the Sea (IFREMER), as per The Five Deeps Expedition. This is a company that assembles scientists, engineers, and submersible operators for missions. Paul Henri Nargeolet, 77, is a former commander in the French Navy who is hailed as a world-leading expert on the Titanic wreckage.
'Thoughts and prayers for my stepfather'
It was another crew member onboard billionaire Hamish Harding, 58, who shared about the expedition and PH Nargeolet's participation. "Thoughts and prayers for my stepfather Hamish Harding as his submarine has gone missing exploring Titanic. Search and rescue mission is underway," his stepson Brian Szasz posted on Facebook a day after Harding shared a picture of himself celebrating the expedition by signing a banner.
"We started steaming from St Johns, Newfoundland, Canada yesterday and are planning to start dive operations around 4 am tomorrow morning. Until then we have a lot of preparations and briefings to do," it read.
