Missing Titanic sub: Rescue gear unloaded as US Air Force plane returns to base

  • Watch the moment a US Air Force plane left Jersey to return to its base in Germany.

Vital rescue equipment loaded onto a US Air Force plane bound for the stricken submersible craft touring the Titanic wreckage has been offloaded after the 28-tonne vehicle caused the pallet carrying it to buckle during loading.

A specialist remotely-operated vessel and 10 crew members from underwater research firm Magellan were due to be flown from the Channel Island of Jersey to St John's, the capital of the Canadian province of Newfoundland.

OceanGate, which operates the missing "Titan" sub, contacted the Guernsey-based deep-sea specialists on Monday 19 June but issues obtaining the relevant permissions to transport the rescue gear caused delays.

The tourist sub lost contact with its base on Sunday while around 435 miles south of the city and rescue efforts have more than doubled as authorities estimate onboard oxygen supplies ran out at around midday on Thursday 22 June.

But survival experts have said there is still hope, as breathing techniques or sleeping allow humans to conserve how much air they need.

However, the US Coast Guard has since announced a "debris field" has been discovered within the search area by a remotely-operated vehicle near the Titanic wreckage.

Specialist underwater rescue equipment loaded onto the USAF C17 plane at Jersey Airport Thursday morning has since been offloaded. Credit: ITV Channel

The US Air Force C17 was supposed to take off at lunchtime, but this afternoon the crew and kit were offloaded and the plane which was supposed to be heading across the Atlantic is now returning to its base in Germany.

Some crew members have remained on the island to help board the replacement aircraft, which ITV News understands is due to arrive within the next two hours to transport the underwater equipment and members of Magellan's team to Canada.

The flight from Jersey to St John's is expected to take around four and a half hours.

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