Democracy Dies in Darkness

‘Mission impossible’: As Titan rescue hopes fade, grim choices near

As oxygen aboard the tiny submersible runs out, a haunting reality is that only so many resources can pool together quickly enough, in such a remote part of the ocean, to pull off a miracle

By
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June 21, 2023 at 9:32 p.m. EDT
The Titan submersible operated by OceanGate Expeditions to explore the Titanic's wreckage. (OceanGate Expeditions/Reuters)
4 min

The tyranny of time, physics and distance now defines the fast-closing window of opportunity to rescue five people in a submersible lost in the Atlantic, and experts foresee that a tough choice is near.

A multinational fleet of ships and planes is combing a patch of frigid ocean twice the size of Connecticut for any sign of the craft known as Titan. Its pilot and four-person crew, enthusiasts who jammed into a titanium and carbon fiber cocoon for the two-mile dive to witness what remains of the Titanic, are believed to have less than 24 hours of oxygen remaining. And no one knows if the vessel is on the water’s surface, on the seafloor or somewhere in between.