Coast Guard racing to find potentially 'entangled' missing Titanic submarine: Butch Hendrick
Lifeguard Systems President Butch Hendrick discusses the active search and rescue mission for a missing sub on 'The Story.'
Lifeguard Systems President Butch Hendrick suspected that a missing tour submersible may have gotten entangled in the wreckage of the Titanic, but said rescue was possible on Monday’s episode of "The Story."
The search continues on Monday evening for a missing five-person submersible used to take tourists to see the underwater wreckage of the Titanic, a ship that sunk off the coast of Canada in the Atlantic in April 1912. OceanGate Expeditions, the company that owns the minivan-sized submersible, confirmed the search for its underwater craft and said its focus was on the people aboard the vessel and their families.
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"It’s going to be in close to the wreckage, being able to stay so people can see as much as they can," Hendrick, who has been developing and performing surface and subsurface water rescues for over 30 years in 15 countries theorized. "The potential of it becoming entangled is a very high concern."
Search and rescue operation underway by US Coast Guard in Boston after a tourist submarine bound for the Titanic's wreckage site went missing off the southeastern coast of Canada. (Yasin Demirci/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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One scenario he suggested is possible is that "it’s somewhere attached to a fishing net, some debris, it may have gotten caught and it just can’t get out of it by itself."
Hendrick expressed his doubt that a tour vessel of this kind would have voluntarily entered the actual interior of the Titanic without some manner of support, but suggested it may have accidentally found itself jammed inside of Titanic wreckage due to "severe weather" that may have "changed the speed of the currents or the direction of the currents and the unit may have been simply just pushed into a portion of the [Titanic] that it can’t get out of by itself."
This tourist vessel was reportedly designed so that it automatically rises to the surface if it malfunctions and would have a releasable beacon or signal buoy that floats to the surface. Hendrick went on to theorize that the fact vessel has not surfaced leaves one explanation, "That in some place in the environment, it has gotten itself slightly entangled."
Lifeguard Systems President Butch Hendrick shared his theory on what may have happened to a missing tour submarine on Monday’s episode of "The Story."
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He explained that a submersible moves through the water via multiple propellers, "If any one of the engines, the little propeller units that are on it got caught or sucked something in and got entangled, it’s now trapped. It cannot self release itself.
Hendrick noted that this type of underwater craft has a limited supply of oxygen, presumably leaving a 60-hour window for the people to be rescued, which he believes is possible.
In this April 10, 1912 file photo the Titanic leaves Southampton, England on her maiden voyage. The 109-year-old wreck is being battered by deep-sea currents and metal-eating bacteria. (AP Photo/File)
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"They have to rescue the entire unit, not taking people out. Most likely they’re going to be coming in with an ROV, a remote vehicle that is unmanned. That vehicle could be then controlled like a Pacman from the surface. It has Cameras of its own that would be able to see where it is, what the problems are and that ROV, that remote vehicle, would have to have cutting tools attached to its manipulative arms. Those units have arms that can articulate and do different projects. If [the tourist submersible] is caught, and it can’t come to the surface as it was designed to in case of an emergency, it needs to be cut free."
"For some time, we have been unable to establish communications with one of our submersible exploration vehicles which is currently visiting the wreck site of the Titanic," OceanGate said in a statement. "Our entire focus is on the wellbeing of the crew and every step possible is being taken to bring the five crew members back safely. We are deeply grateful for the urgent and extensive assistance we are receiving from multiple government agencies and deep-sea companies as we seek to reestablish contact with the submersible. We pray for the safe return of the crew and passengers, and we will provide updates as they are available."
The expedition was OceanGate's third annual voyage to chronicle the deterioration of the iconic ocean liner that struck an iceberg and sank in 1912, killing all but about 700 of the roughly 2,200 passengers and crew. Since the wreckage's discovery in 1985, it has been slowly succumbing to metal-eating bacteria, and some have predicted the ship could vanish in a matter of decades as holes yawn in the hull and sections disintegrate.
Fox News' Bradford Betz and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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