Titanic diver breaks down in tears as he says missing passengers ‘buried alive in a can’

A diver veteran burst into tears today when he said the five passengers trapped in the missing Titanic submarine will feel like they are being “buried alive in a can.”

Search teams estimated that the vital supply of oxygen aboard the Titan would end at 12:08 a.m., nearly dashing any hope of a dramatic rescue, but the U.S. Coast Guard insists they still hope to find the ship — and those on it — deep in to be found in the Atlantic Ocean.

Today, Dr. Michael Guillen, who became the first TV correspondent to visit the remains of the Titanic when he examined the wreck of a Russian submarine in 2000, spoke about his experience.

He revealed to Holly Willoughby and Dermot O’Leary on ITV’s This Morning how he got stuck underwater for 30 minutes, although it felt like a lifetime at the time.

“Every minute you are buried alive in this tin, it stretches for eternity. You lose all sense of time,” he said.

Search teams estimated that the vital supply of oxygen aboard the Titan would end at 12:08 a.m., nearly dashing any hope of a dramatic rescue, but the U.S. Coast Guard insists they still hope to find the ship — and those on it — deep in to be found in the Atlantic Ocean

In an emotional interview, he added, “I feel like I’m with them. I know what they’ve been through.

“I feel it, I’m very empathetic, and I was hoping they would experience that second chance at life that I did and I almost feel guilty talking to you this morning about how I got that second chance.

“It’s kind of remote for them to get a second chance and it’s a terrible way to go.

“My only hope and prayer is that they experience that sense of peace I had when I was ready to let go of my life.”

Bangs have been heard at 30-minute intervals from the depths of the Atlantic – possibly from the men slamming into the side of the submarine – but it has not yet been located.

U.S. Coast Guard Vice Admiral John Mauger said the operation “remains an active search” and that he “remains hopeful” thanks to “favorable” weather conditions.

Asked about the popping noises, he said initial analysis suggested it was “ocean background noise,” but this was still under investigation.

Those trapped aboard the submarine include British billionaire Hamish Harding, OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, French Navy veteran PH Nargeolet and Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, who is just 19 and a student at Strathclyde University.

A deep-water robotic submarine has reached the bottom of the Atlantic — and another is rapidly descending the 12,500-foot ocean.

“The Canadian ship Horizon Arctic deployed an ROV that reached the seabed and began searching for the missing submarine,” a spokesman said.

And a French ship seen as the best and last hope of finding the missing Titanic submarine has also dropped its remote-controlled submarine to find the missing quintet.

Five people are on board, including British billionaire adventurer Hamish Harding and Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, who just turned 19

French Navy veteran PH Nargeolet (left) sits in the submarine with Stockton Rush (right), CEO of the OceanGate Expedition

This is how Titan can be rescued by the French ship, if found

L’Atalante arrived at the scene at 11:48 GMT and deployed the Victor 6000, which can reach depths of 20,000 feet and will arrive at the Titanic wreckage in the next two hours.

The Victor 6000 has arms that can cut cables – or dislodge a stalled or stranded ship – and may be able to attach a cable to the submarine before it is pulled several miles to the surface by a giant winch with more than three miles of cable called a Flyaway Deep Ocean Salvage System on Horizon Arctic.

Despite fears that their oxygen supplies will run out, there is still hope in the most desperate situations.

Experts believe that the 96-hour oxygen supply number is an inaccurate estimate and could be extended if those on board took measures to conserve breathing air, including lying still and even sleeping.

Guillermo Sohnlein founded OceanGate in 2009 with Mr. Rush and believes the odds of finding them are beyond the US Coast Guard’s forecast.

He said: “Today will be a critical day in this search and rescue mission as the submarine’s lifesaving supplies are running low.

“I’m sure Stockton and the rest of the crew realized days ago that the best thing they can do to ensure their rescue is to push the limits of those supplies by relaxing as much as possible.

“I firmly believe that the time available for their rescue is longer than most people think. I’m still holding out hope for my friend and the rest of the crew.”