A search-and-rescue operation was underway on Monday for a submarine-like craft used to take tourists to see the wreck of the Titanic.
The U.S. Coast Guard in Boston said it was searching off the coast of Newfoundland for the submersible. It was not immediately clear how many people were on board.
The Titanic wreckage has been a popular tourist destination for decades. Submersibles take visitors 12,500 feet under the Atlantic Ocean surface to view it.
OceanGate Expeditions charges guests up to $250,000 for the experience.
“Our entire focus is on the crewmembers in the submersible and their families,” OceanGate told CBS News in a statement.
The company said it was “deeply thankful for the extensive assistance [it has] received from several government agencies and deep sea companies in [their] efforts to reestablish contact with the submersible.”
England’s SkyNews reported on Monday, “The main difference between a submersible and a submarine is that the former needs a mother ship that can launch it and recover it, while a submarine has enough power to leave port and come back to port under its own power.”
The Titanic struck an iceberg in April 1912 on a voyage from Southampton, England to New York. More than 1,500 passengers died.
The wreckage was discovered 37 years ago, 400 nautical miles from Newfoundland.
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