Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and Dubai-based billionaire Hamish Harding (inset). SUPPLIED

Dubai-based billionaire Hamish Harding, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son, and two other people are now the subject of a search mission after their submarine to explore the Titanic wreckage went missing. Harding, a British businessman who lives in Dubai, was one of the specialists of the mission to reach the shipwreck at the bottom of the Atlantic. The adventurer holds three Guinness World Records, including diving to the lowest depth of the Mariana Trench in March 2021. Dawood and his son Suleman are prominent figures in Pakistan. Their company invests in agriculture, industries and the health sector. The group was onboard the Titanic exploration submarine called Titan, which charged $250,000 per seat for the tourist dive. The submarine was reported missing since Sunday afternoon. It has been more than 24 hours since it began diving toward the Titanic wreckage, and the vessel reportedly has up to 96 hours of oxygen for a crew of five people. As of Monday, US and Canadian ships and planes have been deployed to search for the submarine. The ships and planes are searching an area east of Cape Cod, some dropping sonar buoys that can monitor to a depth of 13,000 feet, said US Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger. "It is a remote area and it is a challenge to conduct a search in that remote area," Mauger said. "We are deploying all available assets to make sure that we can locate the craft and rescue the people on board," he said. "Going into this evening we will continue to fly aircraft and move additional vessels." According to the Coast Guard, the submarine lost contact with its support vessel an hour and 45 minutes after submerging. It was reported overdue about 700km south of St. John’s in Newfoundland. As of Sunday, the submarine had undergone more than 50 dives. OceanGate Expeditions, the private company that operates the submarine, said in a statement on Monday that it was "mobilising all options" to rescue those on board. Meanwhile, the Dawood family has released a statement saying that multiple government agencies are working on rescue efforts to “bring them back safely”. Just before the deep-sea dive on Sunday, Harding posted on Instagram: “Due to the worst winter in Newfoundland in 40 years, this mission is likely to be the first and only manned mission to the Titanic in 2023. A weather window has just opened up and we are going to attempt a dive tomorrow.” ICA/Expat Media
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