Heartbreak as Titanic 5 now feared dead after oxygen supply ‘runs out’ amid desperate final search for stricken sub

THE five crew members trapped on the missing Titanic sub are now feared dead as their oxygen supply has likely run out. Rescue teams have been staging a last-ditch attempt to locate the vessel in a tense race against the clock after it lost communication on Sunday with just 96 hours of life support. ReutersThe pilot of a Royal Canadian Air Force CP-140 Aurora maritime surveillance aircraft of 14 Wing flies a search pattern for the missing[/caption] AlamyA US Navy CURV21 was among robot subs joining the last-ditch bid[/caption] The US Coastguard warned the oxygen supply was due to run out at 12.08pm BTS (7.08am ET) today – meaning it is probable the crew on board Titan are now without breathable air.  Experts say humans can only survive a few minutes without oxygen. OceanGate’s sub, Titan, vanished less than two hours into its descent 12,500ft down to the Titanic wreckage on Sunday. It failed to resurface that afternoon, with its final “ping” to mothership Polar Prince placing the sub directly above the ruins. British billionaire adventurer Hamish Harding, businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his son Sulaiman, 19, paid £200,000-a-head for the trip. It was led by OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, 61 and veteran French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77. Guillermo Sohnlein, who founded OceanGate with Mr Rush in 2009, believes if all five men have stayed calm and laid still, there is a chance their oxygen supply could’ve lasted longer. He said: “Today will be a critical day in this search and rescue mission, as the sub’s life support supplies are starting to run low.” Sounds of banging detected underwater on Wednesday had raised hopes of a last-gasp miracle as extra rescue ships rushed to join a final bid to find lost craft Titan in the Atlantic. The late arrivals – carrying the world’s most advanced undersea search technology – provided the best hope of an incredible last-minute rescue. RAF and USAF cargo planes are today flying a specialist ultra-deep submersible to St John’s Canada to assist what sources are now calling the “recovery mission”. The remotely operated vehicle, nick-named Juliet, has already surveyed the Titanic wreck. Space Launch NowBritish billionaire Hamish Harding is one of the five trapped on the sub[/caption] Courtesy of the Dawood familySahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, 19, are on the lost sub[/caption] Stockton Rush, CEO of OceanGate, led the expedition Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 73, is the fifth crew member stuck on the vessel It is flying with a 10-strong crew of expert operators and 6km of armoured steel cable to power and control it underwater. US Coast Guard captain Jamie Frederick confirmed deep-sea noises had been heard which were being analysed by sonar experts to establish if they came from the 22ft craft. French ship L’Atalante – carrying the robot Victor 6000, which is capable of reaching depths of 20,000ft – arrived at the scene today, as did US crane ship Horizon Atlantic. The robot can dive deeper than other equipment at the site. Operated by a 25-strong crew, it has arms that can be operated  to cut cables or perform other manoeuvres to release a stuck vessel. While the vehicle could not lift Titan to the surface on its own, it could help to hook it to a ship. Experts warned that even if the sub is located, it would take hours to winch it to the surface. Deep-sea explorer Dr David Gallo told Good Morning Britain, he said: “We have to, at this point, assume that that’s the submarine [banging] and move quickly to that spot, locate it and get robots down there to verify that is where the submarine is. “They’ve got to go fully ready as if that was the sub because it takes a while to locate it and get it up to the surface, it takes hours.” A Downing Street spokesman said: “At the request of the US Coast Guard the UK has embedded a Royal Navy Submariner to assist the search and rescue efforts for the missing submarine.” The Titanic sank on its maiden voyage to New York on April 14, 1912, after hitting an iceberg. More than 1,500 of the 2,200 passengers and crew onboard were killed, and many died within minutes of being thrown into the -2C waters. The decaying wreck of the 822ft liner was first discovered in 1985. ReutersVictor 6000 is a robot able to dive 20,000ft underwater[/caption] The vessel, last pictured here, was created by OceanGate to take passengers 12,500ft below the surface Twitter/@USCGNortheastThe first picture from the search mission shared by the US Coast Guard shows rescue ship Deep Energy[/caption] The crew had signed up for a £195k excursion to dive down and see the wreckage of The Titanic Titanic OceanGate Submarine News Everything you need to know about the missing submarine, which vanished near the Titanic on June 18, 2023. What happened to the OceanGate Submarine? When did it go missing? Who is Hamish Harding? How deep is the Titanic in the ocean? Can the passengers escape the submarine alive? Do submarines like this dissapear often and has this happened before? Who is taking part in the rescue effort? Who is Paul-Henry Nargeolet and what is he known for? Who else is missing on the stricken vessel? When did the Titanic sink and have people explored the wreckage before?