VIDEO: USCG updates on hunt for missing submersible

Rear Adm. John Mauger, commander of the First Coast Guard District, delivered a press briefing today on the hunt for a submersible missing in the vicinity of the Titanic wreck [Screen Grab from U.S. Coast Guard video by Petty Officer 3rd Class Briana Carter]

Citing reports from relatives, the BBC is reporting that a UAE-based British billionaire, Hamish Harding, is among those aboard a submersible missing in the vicinity of the RMS Titanic wreck, some 900 miles east of Cape Cod. The Coast Guard is searching for the the submersible and those on board after the Canadian research vessel Polar Prince lost contact with it during a dive, approximately 900 miles east of Cape Cod, Sunday morning.

The submersible is operated by OceanGate Expeditions, which says on its website that “Qualified explorers have the opportunity to join [its Titanic expeditions] as “Mission Specialist crewmembers whose Training and Mission Support Fees underwrite the mission, the participation of the science team, and their own training.”

According to the BBC report OceanGate charges $250,000 a place for the Titanic expeditions.

The missing submersible is believed to be OceanGate’s carbon fiber and titanium Titan which can carry five people and has is a depth range of 4,000 meters.

A Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina, C-130 Hercules aircraft, as well as a Canadian P8 aircraft equipped with underwater sonar capability, are currently searching for the missing submersible.

Rear Adm. John Mauger, commander of the First Coast Guard District, delivered a press briefing in Boston, Massachusetts, about the search earlier today.

UPDATES: This is a developing story and we will post what we can confirm as it becomes available. Some credible sources are saying that OceanGate CEO is one of the five people on board. Here’s the latest USCG briefing.