On Sunday the OceanGate Titan vessel lost contact and it is thought there was around 96 hours of oxygen onboard.
An expert has claimed that there is just a “1%” chance of the passenger surviving and a former Navy officer has warned “we need to prepare ourselves for the worst.”
Retired Rear Admiral Chris Parry told Sky News that even if the submersible was found now it will still take some time to get them to the surface.
The chances of survival at this point are “vanishingly small” and Parry added that the five passengers are at the “extreme limits for their oxygen.”
Parry said that sadly “I’m afraid it is very gloomy indeed” as at the search site there is a “vast concentration of seabed and operations vessels.”
Speaking to Good Morning Britain, former Royal Navy warfare officer Parry explained, “The margins of success are very slim indeed.
“It will likely be a 1% chance of rescue with them being found safe.
“If they survive, it will be like a Hollywood movie.”
The Horizon Arctic ship has arrived at the search site which has a remote operating vehicle (ROV) called the Curve 21 which is “very capable” which is “essentially a crane” which can operate at 20,000 feet under the water.
Parry told Sky News, “I think the idea will be that if Titan is found, that the remote operating vehicle will go down, make sure it’s all right… attach the cable and they’ll bring it up.”
He added, “I’m afraid to say that even if we were to find Titan now, the time it would take to get down there, secure them, bring them up… it’s vanishingly small in terms of the likelihood of survival.”
A UK Ministry of Defence spokesperson said, “As the host nation for NATO’s multinational submarine rescue capability, we continue to monitor the incident in the North Atlantic and will guide and assist in any response activity as appropriate.”
