Missing Submersible Titanic: Not Just Oxygen, Passengers Face Other Grave Dangers

The five passengers from the missing submersible Titan are not just running out of oxygen but also facing a few other grave dangers, experts say.

The vessel, which went missing on Sunday noon, might have even lost electrical power, they say. According to Ken Ledez, a hyperbaric medicine expert at the Memorial University in St John's, Newfoundland, electrical power has a role in controlling the amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide inside the Titanic submersible.

"As levels of carbon dioxide build-up, then it becomes sedative, it becomes like an anaesthetic gas, and you will go to sleep," he told the BBC. Too much of the gas in a person's bloodstream, known as hypercapnia, can be life-threatening if not treated, he added.

Looking at the videos of the inside view of Titan, former Royal Navy submarine captain Ryan Ramsey said that he could not see a carbon dioxide removal system known as scrubbers.

"That for me is the greatest problem of all of them," the BBC quoted Ramsey as saying. Also, the passengers are at risk from hypothermia, where the body gets too cold.

Capt Ramsey states that when the submarine rests on the seabed, the water temperature plummets to approximately zero degrees. Moreover, in the absence of electricity, the sub becomes incapable of generating heat or any form of power.

As a result, the crew's ability to establish communication with the search and rescue team diminishes due to the onset of hypothermia, oxygen deprivation, and the accumulation of carbon dioxide within the submarine. Even their attempts to attract attention by rhythmically banging on the hull at regular intervals will progressively decline.

"If they're unconscious, they're not going to be able to do much to help themselves," Ledez told the BBC.

It has to be noted that the vessel was designed to carry up to oxygen supply enough to last 96 hours.

A massive search operation is being carried out by the US and Canadian crews to locate the vessel. The five passengers onboard the submersible include British billionaire and adventurer Hamish Harding, Pakistani-born businessman Shahzada Dawood, his son Suleman, French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and Stockton Rush, founder and chief executive of OceanGate.

Notably, they reportedly shelled out $250,000 for an eight-day trip. As per the latest reports, the five individuals on board the vessel have just a few hours of oxygen remaining.