NEW YORK — Rescuers racing against the clock to save the five people trapped in a tourist submersible nearly two miles deep in the Atlantic Ocean are facing major obstacles that could make saving the people onboard extremely difficult, according to a former Navy submarine commander.
Retired Capt. David Marquet told ABC News on Monday that this type of rescue operation is complicated because there aren't nearby U.S. or Canadian underwater vessels that can go as deep as the Titanic wreckage, which sits 13,400 feet below the ocean's surface. Also, the ocean is pitch black at that depth.
Even if a vessel was able to locate the submersible and lower a cable, it's extremely difficult to safely navigate the waters and attach it, Marquet said. Rescuers do have one advantage, Marquet said, as weather conditions off the coast of Newfoundland are not rough and will not disturb any boat or vessel there.
The vessel is designed to hold 96 hours of oxygen, Rear Adm. John Mauger, Cmdr. of the U.S. Coast Guard First District, told reporters Monday.
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