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British Billionaire Among Crew connected Missing Titanic Submersible
Prior to boarding the missing Titanic submersible, British billionaire Hamish Harding had erstwhile acquisition with high-stakes journeys.
The 58-year-old, who works successful the concern aviation industry, has embarked connected explorations that person taken him from the deepest parts of the water to beyond the highest points successful the sky, according to Action Aviation, an planetary craft brokerage institution of which Harding is Chairman.
Harding's past expeditions see the One More Orbit project, a record-breaking 46-hour circumnavigation of Earth by plane, and a travel to abstraction last June with Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket arsenic one of six passengers. Blue Origin is an aerospace institution founded by Amazon's Jeff Bezos that offers flights to space, which person sold successful the past for upwards of $28 million, per the company's website.
Harding besides witnessed the reintroduction of Cheetahs from Namibia to India and conducted respective South Pole visits, Action Aviation wrote successful a connection posted to societal media connected June 20.
His latest travel to presumption the wreckage of the RMS Titanic—the rider liner that infamously sank successful 1912 and inspired James Cameron's 1997 Titanic—wasn't his archetypal clip partaking successful a heavy dive. He antecedently boarded a submersible to the Challenger Deep—the deepest constituent of the ocean—in the Mariana Trench, according to Action Aviation.
Harding's explorations person earned him three Guinness World Records, including longest duration astatine afloat water extent by a crewed vas for his task into the Mariana Trench, according to an online database.
The businessman is 1 of 5 passengers being rescued successful an planetary ngo earlier oxygen connected the 21-foot submersible—named Titan—runs out. The travel was offered by company OceanGate Expeditions, which sells tickets for $250,000, according to NBC News.
Harding was aboard to behaviour research, according to Richard Garriott, who is president of The Explorers Club, a technological exploration group that counts Harding arsenic a member.
"When I saw Hamish past week astatine the Global Exploration Summit, his excitement astir this expedition was palpable," Garriott wrote successful a connection for The Explorers Club posted June 29. "I cognize helium was looking guardant to conducting to probe astatine the site."
Victoria Sirakova/Getty Images
In a follow-up statement, Garriott confirmed that chap Explorers Club member Paul-Henri Nargeolet was besides among the missing passengers and expressed that the enactment has been rallying "far and wide" to supply enactment successful the rescue mission.
"We person overmuch greater assurance that: 1) There is origin for hope, based connected information from the field—we recognize that apt signs of beingness person been detected astatine the site; 2) They precisely recognize the experienced unit and tech we tin assistance deploy," Garriott wrote connected June 20. "3) We judge they are doing everything imaginable with each resources they have; and 4) We present person nonstop lines to the highest levels of Congress, The Coast Guard, Air Forces, Navy and The White House, acknowledgment to your support."
Keep scrolling to larn much astir the 5 passengers aboard the missing Titan submersible, which went missing connected June 18 an hr and 45 minutes into its dive.
AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee
Stockton Rush
On June 20, OceanGate confirmed that its CEO Stockton Rush is aboard the submersible arsenic a subordinate of the crew.
The institution antecedently expressed its sympathies to the families of the missing passengers. "Our full absorption is connected the unit members successful the submersible and their families," OceanGate said successful a June 19 statement, "we are profoundly thankful for the extended assistance we person received from respective authorities agencies and heavy oversea companies successful our efforts to reestablish interaction with the submersible."
Courtesy of the Dawood family
Shahzada Dawood & Son Suleman Dawood
Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman Dawood are besides onboard the submersible.
"We are precise grateful for the interest being shown by our colleagues and friends and would similar to petition everyone to commune for their information portion granting the household privateness astatine this time," their loved ones said successful a connection obtained by NBC News. "The household is good looked aft and are praying to Allah for the harmless instrumentality of their household members."
Action Aviation via AP
Hamish Harding
British billionaire Hamish Harding confirmed helium was a portion of the mission in a June 17 Instagram post, a time earlier the submersible went into the h2o and disappeared.
"I americium arrogant to yet denote that I joined @oceangateexped for their RMS TITANIC Mission arsenic a ngo specializer connected the sub going down to the Titanic," helium wrote. "Due to the worst wintertime successful Newfoundland successful 40 years, this ngo is apt to beryllium the archetypal and lone manned ngo to the Titanic successful 2023. A upwind model has conscionable opened up and we are going to effort a dive tomorrow."
"We started steaming from St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada yesterday and are readying to commencement dive operations astir 4am time morning," Harding continued. "Until past we person a batch of preparations and briefings to do."
JOEL SAGET/AFP via Getty Images
Paul-Henri Nargeolet
As for the 5th member, a typical for French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet told the New York Times that he's a rider connected the Titan, with Harding besides referencing him connected Instagram arsenic a subordinate of the team. However, NBC News has not been capable to corroborate that Nargeolet is in fact onboard the submersible astatine this time.
OceanGate Expeditions via AP
The Titan
As Action Aviation businessman Harding noted successful his post, the submersible—named Titan—is a portion of an OceanGate Expeditions circuit that explores the wreckage of the RMS Titanic, which infamously sank successful 1912.
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