New information has emerged regarding the final communication from Hamish Harding, the British billionaire aboard the submarine that has gone missing. The search has brought to light the last known text from Hamish Harding, the British billionaire onboard the missing submarine.
In addition to Mr. Harding, the passengers include a father and son, a French pilot, and the CEO of OceanGate.
According to a close friend of Mr. Harding, he sent out one of his last messages before the submarine was launched.
Retired NASA astronaut Colonel Terry Virts shared that Mr. Harding had messaged him the day before the voyage.
Speaking on ITV’s Good Morning, Colonel Virts mentioned that Mr. Harding had reached out to him, but the content of the message was not provided.
“Hey, we’re headed out tomorrow; it looks good; the weather’s been bad, so they’ve been waiting for this.”
Colonel Virts wrote, “We don’t really talk about risks; they’re known. He certainly understood the risks; there’s no doubt about that.”
“The last text I got was, ‘Hey, we’re headed out tomorrow; it looks good; the weather’s been bad, so they’ve been waiting for this.’
“He went down to the deepest part of the ocean, set a few world records… at the Mariana Trench [deepest part of the ocean], and we talked quite a bit about the risks and the different things that they were going to be able to do. So he was very excited about it.”
Mr. Harding is a famous explorer and adventurer. He has been to space with Jeff Bezos’ space program and has visited the South Pole twice. He also holds three world records.
Last night, his stepson, Brian Szasz, wrote a heartfelt post on Facebook but later deleted it.
It said, “Thoughts and prayers for my Mom and Hamish Harding. Hamish Harding, my stepfather, has gone missing on submarine thoughts and prayers.”
Mr. Harding shared his latest update on Instagram, revealing his upcoming journey.
He posted a picture of himself signing a document for the Titanic Expedition Mission V. The British explorer expressed his enthusiasm for the adventure in the post.
He also mentioned the challenging weather conditions and discussed the planned route for the voyage.
He said: “I am proud to announce that I finally joined @oceangateexped for their RMS Titanic Mission as a mission specialist on the sub going down to the Titanic. Due to the worst winter in Newfoundland in 40 years, this mission will likely be the first and only manned mission to the Titanic in 2023. A weather window has just opened, and we will attempt a dive tomorrow. We started steaming from St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, yesterday and plan to start dive operations around 4 a.m. tomorrow. Until then, we have a lot of preparation and briefings to do. The team on the sub has a couple of legendary explorers, some of whom have done over 30 dives on the RMS Titanic since the 1980s, including PH Nargeolet. More expedition updates to follow IF the weather holds!”
Agencies
A frantic search is underway to locate the OceanGate submersible, which disappeared during its descent to the ocean floor to observe the Titanic wreckage.
Concerns have escalated as contact with the submarine was lost at a depth of 4,000 meters, raising worries about the well-being of the five individuals aboard.
Joining Mr. Harding on the voyage were Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his son, Sulaiman Dawood, 19.
They believe they paid $250,000 (approximately £195,000) to participate in the journey. Mr. Dawood is known as one of the wealthiest individuals in Pakistan and resides in a mansion in Surrey with his family.
Originally from Pakistan, he came to the UK to study. Paul Henry Nargeolet, a French navy veteran and recognized authority on the Titanic, was also part of the expedition. He has visited the wreckage multiple times and previously discussed the risks of diving.
The US Coast Guard is in charge of the rescue mission. They are worried that the missing submariners might run out of oxygen by Thursday afternoon.
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