Reporter ‘almost died’ in submarine that got stuck in Titanic wreckage

A former TV journalist has told how he “almost died” in a submarine that got stuck in the wreckage of the Titanic.

British billionaire Hamish Harding, Shahzada Dawood, 48, one of Pakistan’s richest men and a UK-based board member of the Prince’s Trust, and his son Sulaiman, 19, are among the group trapped in OceanGate’s small underwater craft.

As efforts continue to find them before the oxygen runs out, former ABC science editor Michael Guillen revealed his own terrifying experience in 2000 when he became the first TV correspondent to board a submarine to visit the wreck – which was two and a half years old. miles below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean at Newfoundland.

News footage shared by Dr. Guillen told how the ship was suddenly caught in a strong underwater current that pushed it towards the Titanic’s 21-ton propellers.

After becoming trapped under the wreckage of the stern, the crew attempted to reverse – at which point a bang was heard as large chunks of debris floated through the water.

“So are we stuck or something?” a voice can be heard asking in the footage.

The team eventually managed to free the submarine and get it back to the surface, but Dr. Guillen said the accident “nearly claimed my life.”

Dr. Guillen was on a submarine called the Mir 1 which was built in 1987.

In his 2021 book Believing is Seeing, Dr. Guillen said, “It seemed to me that we were going [the propeller] too fast – and, worse, accelerating.

“I later learned that our submarine had accidentally become entangled in a fast-moving, deep underwater current. A fraction of a second later, Mir 1 collided with the Titanic’s propeller.

“I felt the shock of the collision: rusty debris rained down on our submarine and obscured my view through the porthole.”

Dr. Guillen said 30 minutes had passed and the team tried to dislodge the ship by “moving it forward and backward, forward and backward” to “rock us out of our trapped position.”

At that point, he began to think they wouldn’t make it.

But he said he then suddenly felt as if an “invisible presence” had entered the submarine, and “shortly afterwards everything went silent” before the engine “stopped roaring” and it felt like they were floating again.

The team had managed to free the Mir 1 from its propeller, but Dr. Guillen admitted that even today he didn’t fully understand how he had survived the incident.

Dr. Guillen, who is a Christian, also wrote how he “experienced God’s presence and peace as I lay down to kiss my life goodbye.”

OceanGate’s submarine, The Titan, is now the only five-person submarine in the world capable of reaching the Titanic.

The ship is controlled by an amplified Playstation controller, though it lacks a GPS system and is guided by text messages sent by a team above water.

CBS correspondent David Pogue, who traveled aboard one of the submarines, has said it is now impossible for those inside to escape without help.

Passengers were sealed in the main capsule with 17 bolts fitted from the outside that could only be removed by an outside crew, he told the BBC yesterday.

He told The Context Program that the craft had seven different functions to help it resurface and it was “really concerning” that none of these had worked.

He added that these resurfacing capabilities would be irrelevant if the submarine became trapped or leaked.

“There’s no backup, there’s no escape pod — it’s surface or die,” Mr. Pogue said.

Meanwhile, a writer who made the Titanic’s submarine voyage last year said he’s “not optimistic” about the search for the missing OceanGate craft.

Mike Reiss told BBC Breakfast that communications were also lost on his dive to the Titanic.

Mr Reiss said: ‘I’m not optimistic just because I know the logistics of it. And I really remember how vast the ocean is and how small the vessel is.

He added: “So the idea is, if it’s at the bottom, I don’t know how anyone could access it, much less bring it back up.”

“There is hope that it is at or near the surface. I did three separate dives. I’ve made one dive to the Titanic and two more off the coast of New York.

“Every time they lost communication and again, this isn’t a shoddy ship or anything.”

The missing tourist submarine is said to have been last “pinged” while directly above the Titanic.

Stockton Rush, CEO of OceanGate – who organized the trip – would be the fifth crew member.

The submarine is believed to have enough oxygen to stay submerged until 12pm Thursday UK time (7am EST).