The Submarine That Takes Tourists to the Titanic Ruins Disappears, One of the Passengers is a British Billionaire

JAKARTA - United States and Canadian ships and planes have been deployed to carry out a massive search for a submarine that disappeared more than a day earlier off Canada's southeast coast, while carrying tourists exploring the wreckage of the Titanic, officials said.

The US Coast Guard said there was one pilot and four passengers on board the vessel, which had the capacity to submerge for 96 hours, but it was unclear whether the ship was still underwater or had surfaced and was unable to communicate.

Boats and aircraft deployed to carry out the search have swarmed the area about 900 miles (1.450 km) east of Cape Cod, some of which dropped sonar buoys that can monitor to a depth of 13.000 feet (3.962 meters), US Navy Rear Adm. John Mauger told reporters on Monday.

"This is a remote area and it is a challenge to carry out a search in that remote area," Rear Adm. Mauger said, citing Reuters, June 20.

"We are deploying all available assets to ensure that we can find the ship and rescue the people on board," he continued.

"Until tonight we will continue to fly planes and move additional ships," said Mauger.

RMS TITANIC EXPEDITION 20234am started this morning on the RMS divided Experience Mission 5 with @oceangateexped. The sub had a successful launch and Hamish is currently diving. Stay tuned for further updates! @the_explorers_club @ActionAvation0 #titanic #tintansub #discovery pic.twitter.com/qVGoYeHVwd

He added that officials had also contacted commercial ships to ask for help.

The US Coast Guard said earlier on Twitter, a ship on the surface - Polar Prince - lost contact with a submarine, called Titan, about an hour and 45 minutes after the ship began diving towards the location of the ruins on Sunday morning.

Meanwhile, the private company operating the submarine, OceanGate Expeditions, said in a statement on Monday it "propelled all options" to save those on board.

British billionaire Hamish Harding is reportedly among the passengers, according to a post on social media from a relative.

"We are very grateful for the extensive assistance we have received from several government agencies and deep-sea companies in our efforts to rebuild contact with the submarine," OceanGate said.

Harding's stepson wrote on Facebook that Harding had "lost on the submarine" and asked for "pray". He then deleted the post, on the grounds of respecting family privacy.

Harding himself had previously uploaded on Facebook that he would be on the submarine. There are no further uploads of it.

The expedition departed for the sea on Friday. Meanwhile, the first dive is scheduled for Sunday morning, according to a Harding post.

It is known that the expedition, which cost $250,000 per person, started with St John's, Newfoundland, before heading about 400 miles (640 km) to the Atlantic to the ruins site, according to OceanGate's website.

He added that officials had also contacted commercial vessels for assistance.

The US Coast Guard said earlier on Twitter that a surface vessel - the Polar Prince - lost contact with the sub, called Titan, about an hour and 45 minutes after it began its dive towards the wreckage site Sunday morning.

Meanwhile, the private company that operates the submarine, OceanGate Expeditions, said in a statement Monday it was "exercising all options" to save those on board.

British billionaire Hamish Harding was reportedly among the passengers, according to a social media post from a relative.

"We are grateful for the extensive assistance we have received from several government agencies and deep-sea companies in our efforts to re-establish contact with the submarine," OceanGate said.

Harding's stepson wrote on Facebook that Harding had been "lost in a submarine" and asked for "prayers." He later deleted the post, citing respect for the family's privacy.

Harding himself had earlier posted on Facebook he would be on the submarine. No further uploads from him.

This expedition set out to sea on Friday. Meanwhile, the first dive is scheduled for Sunday morning, according to Harding's post.

The expedition, which cost US$250,000 per person, started from St John's, Newfoundland, before heading about 400 miles (640 km) up the Atlantic to the site of the wreckage, according to the OceanGate website.