A 21-foot submarine carrying five people disappeared on Sunday while on a dive to the wreckage of the Titanic. The submarine, named the Titan, was operated by OceanGate Expeditions, a company that offers tourists the chance to explore the Titanic wreck.
The Titan lost contact with its support vessel, the R/V Endeavour, about an hour and 45 minutes into its dive. The search for the submarine is ongoing, but there is little hope that the five crew members survived.
The U.S. Coast Guard said that it has heard noises underwater in the search area, but it is not clear what the noises are. The Coast Guard has also expanded the search area to twice the size of Connecticut.
James Cameron, the filmmaker who made the documentary "Titanic," said that he believes the Titan imploded. Cameron said that he has sources who reported hearing a loud bang at the time the Titan lost contact with its support vessel.
If the Titan did implode, it is likely that the five crew members were killed instantly. The pressure at the depth of the Titanic wreck is about 16,000 psi, which is more than enough to crush a submarine.
The search for the Titan is expected to continue for several more days. However, the odds of finding the submarine and the five crew members alive are slim.
Update
On June 22, the U.S. Coast Guard said that it had found a large debris field containing five major pieces of the Titan submarine. The debris field was found near the Titanic wreck site, about 400 miles south of St. John's, Newfoundland.
The Coast Guard said that the debris field is consistent with a catastrophic implosion. The agency also said that there is no evidence that any of the five crew members survived.
The sinking of the Titan is a tragic reminder of the dangers of deep-sea diving. It is also a reminder of the Titanic itself, which sank on its maiden voyage in 1912, killing more than 1,500 people.
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