Titanic submarine vanished for HOURS last year after communication system ‘broke down’, ex-passenger reveals

A SUBMARINE missing with five passengers also vanished for HOURS on another expedition last year. An ex-passenger who embarked on a voyage to see the wreckage of the Titanic says the vessel was “lost” because of bad weather last summer. CBSAn ex-passenger of a missing submarine says it was also missing for hours last summer[/caption] The vessel was lost for two and a half hours OceanGateOceanGate’s submarine can carry five people down to the wreckage[/caption] OceanGateA submarine used to take tourists to see the wreckage of Titanic has vanished[/caption] Passengers on the trip, including CBS Sunday Morning reporter David Pogue, never had the chance to see the shipwreck after they lost communication with the surface ship. He explained: “There’s no GPS underwater, so the surface ship is supposed to guide the ship to the shipwreck by sending text messages. “But on this dive, communication somehow broke down. The sub never found the wreck.” Another passenger added: “We were lost. We were lost for two and a half hours.” It comes as rescue crews are frantically searching the Atlantic Ocean after the submarine again vanished on Sunday. The submarine set sail from St John’s in Newfoundland at 7am on Sunday. Just one hour and 45 minutes into the expedition the submarine lost contact with its transport vessel – the Polar Prince. At roughly midnight on Monday morning the vessel was reported “overdue”. It’s believed this is when the alarm was raised and the Coast Guard were notified. OceanGate, one of few companies offering trips to see the ruins, confirmed a major search mission has been launched to “bring the crew back safely”. Tickets for tourists to see the wreckage – which is around 600km off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada – cost up to £195,000. One of the missing passengers has been named as aviator and businessman Hamish Harding. Harding posted on Facebook about poor weather conditions before the trip began. French submersible pilot Paul-Henry Nargeolet is also feared to be on board. Mr Nargeolet is the Director of Underwater Research Program at Premier Exhibitions, RMS Titanic, Inc. The diving expert previously spoke frankly of the extreme dangers of deep-sea exploration in an interview. It’s thought the pair have been accompanied by Stockton Rush, the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of OceanGate Inc – the company carrying out the expedition. CrunchbaseBrit billionaire Hamish Harding is confirmed to be one of the crew[/caption] Stockton Rush, CEO of OceanGate, is feared to be on the missing submarine Paul-Henry Nargeolet, 73, is also feared missing submarine