Titanic sub: Employee filmed vessel on surface and pilot waving days before descent on TikTok

Watch the moment the missing submersible is shown about to begin its descent to the Titanic shipwreck

A crew member on board the missing Titanic submersible's mothership captured the moment the vessel began its descent to the shipwreck, posting the video to TikTok.

The 22-year-old, Abbi Jackson, is a videographer employed by OceanGate and was watching from The Polar Prince, which is now acting as the main ship in a large-scale search and rescue operation for the sub.

She also posted a video on June 5 of Paul-Henri Nargeolet, an ex-French Navy commander of 25 years who is believed to be piloting the sub, waving from the side of a boat.

"This man has seen the Titanic 37 times," her caption reads.

Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77, believed to be piloting the sub, was filmed waving and smiling on June 5

"What a legend," she also says from behind the camera.

Ms Jackson's other TikTok, dated Sunday, shows the vessel bobbing on the surface ahead of its descent.

"Watching a submarine go down to the Titanic," it says.

The undersea craft, named Titan, carries five members, including Mr Nargeolet, who is known as Titanic's "greatest explorer," and OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush.

As of Thursday morning, the crew could have just hours of oxygen left, according to estimates by US authorities.

Also on board is UK-based businessman Shahzada Dawood, his son Suleman Dawood, and British billionaire Hamish Harding.

Missing Titan sub: 'Landing frame' found during search near Titanic wreckage
Stockton Rush (left), Hamish Harding (second from left), Shahzada Dawood (second from right), and Paul-Henry Nargeolet are on board Titan. Credit: AP / Hamish Harding / Engro

The US Coast Guard had five surface vessels searching for Titan on Wednesday and they expected there to be 10 by Thursday, it was revealed at a press conference on Wednesday.

Asked whether the mission was changing to become a recovery search, US Coast Guard Captain Jamie Frederick said: “This is a search and rescue mission 100%, we are smack dab in the middle of search and rescue and will continue to put every available asset that we have in an effort to find the Titan and the crew members.”

Titan is believed to be about 900 miles east and 400 miles south of Newfoundland. It is not known how deep the vessel is, with the seabed being around 3,800m from the surface.

The area of the search has been expanded, with the surface search now about 10,000 square miles, and the sub-surface search about 2.5 miles deep.

How would the Titan crew be conserving oxygen?

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