Stone Temple Pilots and Hoobastank are set to perform at an upcoming benefit concert in support of the Ed Asner Family Center.
The show takes place September 9 at The Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles. The bill also includes Beatles legend Ringo Starr, as well as Toto, Men at Work‘s Colin Hay and blues rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa.
Tickets go on sale Friday, June 23, at 10 a.m. PT.
The Ed Asner Family Center, named after the late actor, supports individuals with special needs and their families. For more info, visit EdAsnerFamilyCenter.org.
(WASHINGTON) — A respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, vaccine for older adults could soon be available after an advisory committee for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted to recommend them Wednesday.
During a meeting, the agency’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices looked at clinical trial data for two vaccines, one by Pfizer and the other by GSK.
Short of a full recommendation, the committee said adults aged 60 and over may get the vaccines based on individual needs and after consultation with a doctor.
The vaccines have already received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, so the final step is for CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky to sign off on the recommendations, which she is expected to do.
Here’s what the panel’s vote could mean for older Americans:
Why is RSV so dangerous for older adults?
RSV can affect people of all ages, though some age groups are at higher risk, including adults aged 65 and older — particularly those with chronic lung or heart conditions and weakened immune systems — according to the CDC.
Most people develop mild infections with symptoms including coughing, runny nose and fever, but, in some cases, people may need to be hospitalized if they are having trouble breathing or are dehydrated.
So far, during the 2022-23 season, there have been 67.5 RSV-associated hospitalizations per 100,000 people for senior citizens, according to CDC data.
This figure is much higher than usual, with CDC data going back to the 2016-17 season showing the cumulative rate has never been higher 31.5 per 100,000 at this point in the season for older adults.
Between 60,000 to 160,000 older adults in the U.S. are hospitalized due to RSV every year and 6,000 to 10,000 of them die, the CDC said.
“There is no really effective treatment for [RSV] in terms of antivirals,” Dr. Paul Goepfert, a professor of medicine in the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital division of infectious diseases, told ABC News. “So really the only treatment is supportive management, so ideally what you want to do is prevent it.”
How do the vaccines work and are they effective?
GSK’s vaccine, called Arexvy, and Pfizer’s vaccine, called Abrysvo, target a protein from the virus called the F protein that RSV uses to attach to human cells and infect people.
The vaccine stimulates antibodies against the protein and protects against infection. GSK’s shot just protects against the A strain and Pfizer’s protects against the A and B strains.
Data from clinical trials showed GSK’s vaccine was 82% effective at preventing lower respiratory tract illness and 94% effective among those with at least one underlying medical condition.
Pfizer’s vaccine was found to be more than 85% effective at preventing lower respiratory tract illness in older adults, trial data showed, with efficacy waning to about 79% after 18 months.
Pfizer and GSK have not released data on the effectiveness of their vaccine against severe RSV illness leading to hospitalization.
Side effects were mostly mild and included injection site pain, headache, fatigue, muscle pain and joint pain, the clinical ttrials found.
“We know from the start that this vaccine has durability, which is important versus the COVID vaccine, [which] can lose efficacy after four to six months, reducing public confidence in the vaccine,” Dr. Dan Barouch, director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, told ABC News. “These vaccines have high efficacy that last at least two seasons.
What the CDC’s advisory panel vote means
The panel voted twice Tuesday, first asking if 60-to-64-year-olds may receive the vaccine after consulting with their doctor, which received 13 yeses and one abstention.
The second vote asked the same question but for those aged 65 and older, receiving nine votes for the recommendation and five votes against.
“In my opinion, it is the right step because it is such a difficult disease and hard to treat and a good recommendation to at least be an option for people who at least want to protect themselves from this infection,” Goepfert said.
Doctors told ABC News the committee members were concerned the clinical trials did not have very many trial participants over age 75.
Committee members were also concerned about the price. Pfizer told the panel it would charge anywhere from $180 to $270, while GSK said it would charge between $200 to $295.These do not reflect the prices insured vaccine recipients would pay.
“The recommendation that we received from the CDC advisors was one that was a more restrained recommendation than they typically deploy for their for their vaccine guidance,” Dr. Jason Schwartz, an associate professor of health policy at the Yale School of Public Health, told ABC News. “What they’ve recommended is that individuals aged 60 and above may receive this vaccine following conversations with their health care providers, something that’s referred to as ‘shared clinical decision making.'”
“That’s a notch below their full-throated recommendation that often says these individuals should receive a vaccine in that age group, but it reflects a bit of the uncertainties about the vaccine, the concern about the cost of the vaccines,” he continued.
Why the vaccine could be a game-changer
Researchers have attempted to develop an RSV vaccine before, but without success.
In the late 1960s, a vaccine was produced in which the virus was inactivated with formalin, a chemical that kills viruses. The shot was given to children in Washington, D.C., but 80% of those immunized became sick and two children died from the shots.
“For 60 years, there’s been no RSV vaccine because the early clinical trials showed the vaccine actually made disease worse, what’s known as vaccine-associated enhanced disease,” Dr. Gregory Poland, head of the Mayo Clinic’s vaccine research group, told ABC News. “That’s like putting a blanket over the field of RSV vaccine development.”
Experts said the two vaccines are a significant step forward and provide an additional tool for preventing disease, but it will be important to keep an eye on real-world data, once the shots start being administered, in how well they protect the elderly and the immunocompromised.
“It has the ability to be a game changer, we just need to see how it plays out in the real world
(WASHINGTON) — Congressional Republicans on Thursday released transcripts of their interviews with two IRS whistleblowers who in April accused the Justice Department of granting Hunter Biden “preferential treatment” during its yearslong probe of his tax affairs.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith promoted the whistleblowers’ testimony as evidence that senior Biden administration officials stymied Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss’ investigation — a sentiment at odds with the Trump appointee’s own affirmation that Attorney General Merrick Garland granted him “ultimate authority” to investigate the younger Biden.
Hunter Biden this week agreed to plead guilty to a pair of tax-related misdemeanors and enter into a pretrial diversion agreement that would enable him to avoid prosecution on one felony gun charge, potentially ending the DOJ’s yearslong probe.
In hundreds of pages of testimony, the two IRS whistleblowers claim that senior Justice Department officials blocked prosecutors’ attempts to bring charges against Hunter Biden in Washington and California, and refused to grant Weiss special counsel status.
The whistleblowers also claimed that some investigators advocated for Hunter Biden to face harsher felony charges for his failure to pay taxes, instead of the misdemeanor offenses to which he ultimately agreed to plead guilty.
Justice Department officials pushed back on the allegations Thursday.
MORE: IRS whistleblower has told Congress that Hunter Biden probe is being mishandled
“As both the Attorney General and U.S. Attorney David Weiss have said, U.S. Attorney Weiss has full authority over this matter, including responsibility for deciding where, when, and whether to file charges as he deems appropriate,” the DOJ said in a statement. “He needs no further approval to do so.”
An attorney for Hunter Biden did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(NEW YORK) — Lorraine Jessop’s three youngest children – Nathan, Summer, and Benjamin – have been missing since Feb. 4, 2023. According to court documents, they ran away.
“I checked on them at midnight,” Jessop, 42, told ABC News. “And my daughter was awake. And I thought, ‘That’s odd.'”
“At 5 in the morning, I awoke to a cold house because the front door was wide open and the kids were gone,” Jessop continued. “It was horrifying.”
But Jessop doesn’t believe it’s that simple, nor does she believe her children’s disappearance is an isolated incident. She is an ex-member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), the polygamist breakaway offshoot of Mormonism. And there are three other mothers whose children have also disappeared – eight children in total, one as young as 12.
“I feel like that either someone took it upon themself or were told by church authorities to gather up these children,” Jessop said to ABC News in an interview for “Impact x Nightline” now streaming on Hulu.
Another mother, Elizabeth Roundy, 49, agrees. She believes her daughter Elintra, who ran away on January 1, 2023, was told how to run away.
“I am positive that FLDS are hiding Elintra,” Roundy said.
The church is best known for its prophet – Warren Jeffs – who was convicted in 2011 to life in prison for sexually assaulting girls as young as 12. But he remains the church’s prophet from behind bars, according to experts and former members that ABC News spoke with.
Last year, experts say Jeffs began to release new revelations, or prophecies, which ABC News has obtained, including one last June that calls for children of ex-members to come back into the fold, and another in August calling for members of the FLDS to die in the next 5-1/2 years in order to reach heaven.
Experts of the FLDS church, as well as the mothers of the eight missing children, fear an event similar to Jonestown, when more than 900 people died in a murder-suicide orchestrated in 1978 by Jim Jones, leader of the Peoples Temple cult.
“And so you think some of those followers would be prepared to lay down their lives for their beliefs?” Juju Chang, Co-Anchor of ABC News’ “Nightline,” asked Jessop.
“Oh, yes,” Jessop answered. “I think that I was prepared to lay down my life.”
“And they would lay down the lives of children?” Chang asked.
“Oh, yes,” Jessop said.
HISTORY OF THE FLDS
The FLDS was founded more than 130 years ago after polygamy was outlawed in the Mormon Church. Its current prophet, Warren Jeffs, is a 67-year-old convicted pedophile who had approximately 80 wives, many of them underage, according to experts.
These mothers of the missing children – Lorraine Jessop, Mirinda Johnson, Elizabeth Roundy, and Sarah Johnson – all grew up in the FLDS, and up until they left the church believed Warren Jeffs was the prophet.
“Warren was God to us,” Jessop remembered.
In this sect, women are viewed as second-class and subservient to men. Children are home-schooled and are often sent to live with families different from their birth parents. Their lives are completely different than that of the modern world. Warren Jeffs released revelations telling members to live without phones, the internet, and even toys, experts and former members told ABC News. These communities often live in remote border towns, some even on secure compounds.
“Growing up, it was our purpose… to be married,” Sarah Johnson said. “I decided in the very beginning that I was going to be the most obedient, the most perfect wife I could be.”
She says she was betrothed at 17 to a man 25 years her elder. One of her four sister-wives was her biological sister and, among them, they had more than 30 children.
Johnson’s son, Salome, has been missing the longest. He ran away on March 9, 2021.
One child, who went missing last year, has since been found. Warren Jeffs’ nephew, Heber Jeffs, was charged last December with kidnapping his 10-year-old niece, whose parents had left the FLDS. He says he raised the girl since she was young. The charging court documents allege that Heber followed his uncle’s prophecies and directives, one of which called for children of ex-members to come back to the church.
Heber has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of ‘custodial interference’ and his attorney denied that the recent revelations influenced his actions. The 10-year-old girl has been reunited with her parents.
AN ‘APOSTATE’
These mothers have another key trait in common – they have all left the fundamentalist church. But when someone leaves, the community labels them an ‘apostate’ – the scarlet letter of the FLDS.
“When you leave, you’re considered an apostate, and are treated severely by the people who remain in the church,” said Roger Hoole, an attorney who represents some of these mothers. “It’s often a very long process before somebody leaves, and then it’s a long process before they emotionally are able to make the real adjustment. It’s not something that’s done overnight.”
Leaving the church can simultaneously be a real chance at freedom, but also a terrifying experience, these mothers told ABC News.
“It’s like jumping off of a cliff and not knowing if your parachute’s going to open, if you even have one on,” Sarah Johnson said of leaving the sect. “Just knowing that taking that jump is better than staying where you’re standing.”
But when Lorraine Jessop left, she felt differently.
“I felt like I was gonna burn in hell,” Jessop said.
Because of their ‘apostate’ label, these mothers’ children believed they were corrupt and dangerous, and out of fear shouldn’t be living with them, the moms told ABC News. To live with their non-FLDS mothers would mean to leave the only life they’ve ever known, they added, and that’s why each mom believes their child ran away.
“Our concern is, how do they run away by themselves?” Hoole said. “Are they being helped? Are we seeing a pattern here?”‘
The FLDS has a long history of hiding and harboring people, experts say. In the past, they’ve used a network they call “houses of hiding,” which is the same network that kept Warren Jeffs hidden for two years even as he was on the FBI’s Most Wanted list.
REVELATIONS
But what these mothers say terrifies them the most is that if their children ran back to the church, they could be facing incredible danger from the prophecies that have been released by Warren Jeffs.
“In the FLDS, the children are raised to believe that the prophet can do no wrong,” Hoole explained. “And the adults that are in the group believe the prophet can do no wrong.”
“So if this revelation is accurate, and it is believed to be accurate by the FLDS people, and if Warren Jeffs were to command people to be translated, in other words, die, so that they could go to heaven — the faithful FLDS may well do that,” Hoole continued. The revelation, which was released last August, called for FLDS members to be ‘translated’ to heaven in the next 5-1/2 years.
“And translated to heaven in the Mormon context means you become immortal, you go to heaven,” Hoole explained. “But the problem is, and this is what the revelation says, the problem is you have to die first.”
The former police chief of Salt Lake City Chris Burbank fears the worst could be possible.
“I think Warren Jeffs’ influence over the FLDS community is so significant that it’s not unrealistic to believe his followers would follow him down the road of a mass suicide event,” Burbank said.
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
“How, in the United States of America, could a religion exist where the belief is that children will be translated, in other words, have to die and go to heaven within five years?” Hoole asked.
Utah was founded by pioneers seeking religious freedom, according to Burbank. He says there’s a long history in Utah that believes citizens should be able to practice whatever religion they want.
“I think that’s part of the reason it took so long for the state to take any action in the first place a number of years ago, because of this notion of religious freedom,” Burbank said, speaking about the 2008 YFZ Ranch raid and the civil rights investigation into the FLDS.
Burbank thinks that stigma might continue today.
“Law enforcement is leery of these cases,” Burbank said. “I think there is a stigma attached to investigating or intruding upon freedom of religion.”
“And I’m a firm believer in the ability to practice your religion free from the influence of the government,” Burbank said. “But when your religious practice then endangers children, we have to draw a line there.”
ABC News reached out to the FBI, and officials declined to comment on whether there was an investigation into these missing children.
ABC News also reached out to each individual law enforcement agency handling the cases of the eight missing children, and they all confirmed they remain active and open cases.
ABC News attempted to reach the FLDS church through Helaman Jeffs, the son of Warren Jeffs, who has been issuing his father’s revelations. ABC News did not receive a response.
MOTHERS’ LOVE
These mothers say they will keep searching for their children. When asked what they would say to their missing children if they were to see them, each mother responded with an answer of love.
“Well, first I would get up and I would give ’em a great big hug,” Mirinda Johnson said. “And then I would probably [say], ‘Why’d you do that to me?'”
Johnson’s children have been missing since October 29, 2022 – more than 230 days.
“I would say, ‘Elintra, I love you so much. And I miss you terribly, more than I can say. And I’m worried about your safety,” Elizabeth Roundy told ABC News. “Please come home.'”
Roundy’s daughter has been missing since January 1, 2023 – more than 170 days.
“True love is unconditional,” Jessop said. “I love you regardless of what you wear, what you believe. God gave you to me as children. God appointed me as your mother…I love you with a mother’s love that’s stronger than anything you could imagine.”
Lorraine Jessop’s three kids have been missing since February 4, 2023 – over 130 days.
“I want him to know that nothing has changed since the last time that we hugged or spoke to each other,” Sarah Johnson said. “I’m always going to love you, and there’s so much that I want to teach you.”
Sarah’s son has been missing since March 9, 2021 – more than 830 days.
“I feel a little bit crazy sometimes,” Johnson finished. “But every time I drive down the road if I see a child or a boy that looks like he could be about his age, or size, I just have to look ’em in the face.”
ABC News’ Karin Weinberg, Laura Coburn, Zoe Chevalier, and Ashley Schwartz-Lavares contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Frozen fruit products distributed to Walmart, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Target, Aldi and AWG stores in over 30 states have been voluntarily recalled due to possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination.
SunOpta Inc’s subsidiary, Sunrise Growers Inc., issued the voluntary recall on specific frozen fruit products linked to pineapple provided by a third-party supplier, the company announced in cooperation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday.
In the recall notice, SunOpta and the FDA urged consumers to check their freezers for the recalled product and to not consume it, but rather discard the product or return it to the store for a full refund.
“Our commitment to food safety remains our utmost priority. Sunrise Growers has terminated all future business with the third-party supplier,” the company said in a statement.
Click here for a full list of products, lot codes, best by dates and other pertinent recalled product information from the FDA.
There were a variety of generic and name-brand products affected by the recall that were distributed to the six major retailers. The products listed below, as written by the FDA, are all a part of the voluntary recall.
Walmart: Great Value Mixed Fruit, Great Value Dark Sweet Cherries, and Great Value Mango Chunks sold at stores in AR, AZ, CA, CO, DC, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MD, MN, MO, MT, ND, NE, NM, NV, OH, OK, OR, PA, SD, TX, UT, VA, WV and WY from January 19, 2023 to June 13, 2023
Whole Foods: 365 Organic Tropical Fruit Medley, 365 Organic Pineapple Chunks, 365 Pineapple Chunks, 365 Organic Whole Strawberries, 365 Organic Slice Strawberries and Bananas, and 365 Organic Blackberries distributed to select stores throughout the US from November 1, 2022 to June 21, 2023
Trader Joe’s: Trader Joe’s Organic Tropical Fruit Blend distributed to select distribution centers or stores in AK, AL, CT, CO, DE, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, TN, TX, VA, VT, WI, and Washington DC from March 28, 2023 to April 11, 2023
Target: Good & Gather Organic Cherries and Berries Fruit Blend, Good & Gather Dark Sweet Whole Pitted Cherries, Good & Gather Mango Strawberry Blend, Good & Gather Mixed Fruit Blend, Good & Gather Mango Chunks, Good & Gather Blueberries, and Good & Gather Triple Berry Blend distributed nationwide from October 14, 2022 to May 22, 2023
Aldi: Season’s Choice Tropical Blend distributed to select distribution centers or stores in AL, AR, CT, FL, GA, IA, KS, KY, MA, MD, MI, MO, MS, NC, NE, NH, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA, VT and WV from October 11, 2022 to May 22, 2023
AWG (Associated Wholesale Grocers): Best Choice Pitted Red Tart Cherries Unsweetened distributed to select distribution centers or stores in KS, MO, NE and OK from April 5, 2023 to May 4, 2023To date, there have been no illnesses associated with this voluntary recall.
“All other Sunrise Growers products that have different lot codes or best by dates are not affected by this recall. The affected retail customers have been notified of this recall and instructed to remove any recalled product from retail store shelves and inventories.
Health risks of Listeria
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, listeria can cause severe illness “when the bacteria spread beyond the gut to other parts of the body” after a person consumes contaminated food. Those at higher risk include pregnant people, those aged 65 or older, or anyone who has a weakened immune system, the CDC says.
“If you are pregnant, it can cause pregnancy loss, premature birth, or a life-threatening infection in your newborn,” the CDC states on its website. “Other people can be infected with Listeria, but they rarely become seriously ill.”
According to the CDC, anyone infected with listeria may experience “mild food poisoning symptoms” such as diarrhea or fever, and many recover without antibiotic treatment.
(VILLA RICA, Ga.) — A police department in Georgia is apologizing after posting now-deleted footage showed several white participants in a handgun training course shooting a photo of a Black man for target practice. The footage has sparked outrage among some in the community.
A representative from the police department told ABC News that the human images will no longer be used for civilian target practice following the outrage but the images will continue to be used for law enforcement training per law enforcement training standards.
Footage posted online by the Villa Rica Police Department, captured by ABC affiliate WSB-TV before their deletion, show only images of a Black man being used by civilian class participants, though the department said that the images are one of “various ethnic groups” included in the target practice photos.
Online commenters critiqued the apparent sole use of images with a Black male.
“Hating and being afraid of [Black] people is taught at home, at police training and apparently random handgun classes,” read one comment on the police department’s Facebook post.
Members of the Carroll County branch of the NAACP criticized the department’s use of photos as targets.
“These types of targets have been used by other police departments within the U.S. and have been deemed racially inappropriate and unacceptable,” NAACP Carroll County President Dominique Conteh said in an online statement.
NAACP Carroll County did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
“I don’t think you should have any human being as a target whether they are Black, white, Asian,” Conteh said in a comment to a local Fox affiliate.
Villa Rica Mayor Gil McDougal ordered the images to be removed from social media and for an independent firm to investigate the incident, according to WSB-TV.
Conteh said in the statement she has requested a meeting with the department and leadership to discuss the incident.
Diversity training would give more insight “as to the reasoning as to why those targets are ‘unacceptable and deemed racist,'” Conteh said in the statement.
“It was never our intention to be insensitive, inflammatory, or offensive to anyone,” the police department said in an online statement.
The department said it “strives to be conscious of how our relationship with our community members has a direct impact on our effectiveness within the community we serve.”
(NEW YORK) — A submersible carrying five people while on a trip to the Titanic wreckage suffered a “catastrophic implosion,” U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. John Mauger said at a press conference on Thursday.
A remote-operated vehicle found debris from the OceanGate Titan submersible’s tail-cone approximately 1,600 feet from the ship, Mauger said.
A search and rescue team found several additional pieces of debris that indicated they belonged to the Titan, the missing vessel that drew international attention in recent days, Mauger said.
It remains “too early to tell” when the implosion took place, but the search and rescue team will continue to collect information, Mauger added.
“This is an incredibly unforgiving environment on the seafloor,” Mauger said. “This is something that happened in a remote portion of the ocean.”
In a statement, OceanGate confirmed the deaths of all five passengers on board.
“These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans,” the company said. “Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time.”
What type of debris did the search and rescue effort find?
The search and rescue team identified two fields of debris in an area surrounding the bow of the sunken Titanic, Mauger said, describing them as one large field of debris and one small field.
The discovered objects included “five different major pieces of debris” that identified the materials as consistent with the Titan, undersea expert Paul Hankin said at the press conference.
The debris included a nose cone and one end of the pressure hull, Hankin said.
“We’ve continued to map the debris field,” Hankin said. “We’ll do the best we can to fully map it out.”
What does “catastrophic implosion” mean?
Titan is a carbon fiber submersible that can travel as far as 4,000 meters below sea level, the OceanGate website says.
At the depth of the Titanic, which sits 3,800 meters below sea level, the pressure reaches a level 380 times the atmospheric pressure on the earth’s surface, Stefan Williams, a professor of marine robotics at the University of Sydney, said in a blog post on Tuesday.
A fault or failure in the hull of Titan could lead to an implosion, as the vessel gives way to the high pressure of the deep sea, Williams said.
The implosion of a submersible delivers immense force, oceanographer Bob Ballard told ABC News on Thursday.
“I don’t think people can appreciate the amazing energy involved in the destructive process of an implosion,” Ballard said. “It just takes out and literally shreds everything.”
“It’s extremely powerful,” he added.
Are there previous examples of a submersible imploding?
A U.S. nuclear submarine, called Thresher, imploded during a deep-sea dive 220 miles off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, a U.S. Navy inquiry showed.
The implosion left 129 sailors dead.
More recently, in 2014, the unmanned Nereus submersible suffered a “catastrophic implosion” while traveling at a depth of 9,990 meters in the Kermadec Trench northeast of New Zealand, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution said soon afterward in a statement.
At the time of implosion, Nereus faced pressure of an estimated 6,000 pounds per square inch, WHOI said.
The team of researchers tracking Nereus found “spotted pieces of debris floating on the sea surface” that were later identified as part of the submersible, WHOI said.
Researchers lost contact with Nereus seven hours into a nine-hour mission, WHOI added.
(NEW YORK) — After days of desperate searches throughout the Atlantic Ocean, the U.S. Coast Guard announced Thursday that the five passengers aboard the missing submersible vessel were killed when vessel suffered a catastrophic implosion.
Stockton Rush, Shahzada Dawood, his son Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding and Paul-Henri Nargeolet were inside the vessel that embarked on the deep-dive tour, according to OceanGate, the company that operated the submersible. Their families were notified after debris of the vessel was found on the ocean floor, according to the Coast Guard.
“Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time. We grieve the loss of life and joy they brought to everyone they knew,” OceanGate said in a statement Thursday.
“Our entire focus is on the wellbeing of the crew and every step possible is being taken to bring the five crew members back safely,” OceanGate continued.
The submersible was designed with life support to sustain five crew members for 96 hours. On Thursday, the Coast Guard said it found debris on the ocean floor that was consistent with “catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber,” roughly 1,600 feet from the Titanic wreckage.
The investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Here’s what we know about the victims.
Hamish Harding
Hamish Harding was no stranger to exploration.
Harding circumnavigated the Earth in 2019. He made a dive in 2021 to the deepest point on earth, Challenger Deep, in the Mariana Trench. And he traveled into space last year aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard.
Harding, a British businessman and chairman of Action Aviation, previewed his dive to see the Titanic shipwreck in a Facebook post.
“Due to the worst winter in Newfoundland in 40 years, this mission is likely to be the first and only manned mission to the Titanic in 2023,” he posted on Sunday. “A weather window has just opened up and we are going to attempt a dive tomorrow.”
Harding, a licensed air transport pilot who holds three Guinness World Records, was “an extraordinarily accomplished individual who has successfully undertaken challenging expeditions,” Action Aviation said in a statement.
Along with his ocean dives and blasting off to space, he helped with “the reintroduction of Cheetahs from Namibia to India” and “has been to the South Pole a number of times,” the company said. Harding was inducted in 2022 as a Living Legend of Aviation.
Shahzada and Suleman Dawood
Shahzada Dawood was vice chairman of Engro Corporation Limited, a sprawling business headquartered in Karachi, Pakistan. Suleman Dawood is his son, the family said in a statement.
“Our son Shahzada Dawood and his son, Suleman, had embarked on a journey to visit the remnants of the Titanic in the Atlantic Ocean. As of now, contact has been lost with their submersible craft and there is limited information available,” the Dawood family said in a statement Tuesday.
The Dawoods were both British citizens, according to a colleague.
Shahzada Dawood, a husband and father of two, loved photography, gardening and exploring natural habitats, according to the family.
Suleman Dawood, a university student, was passionate about science fiction literature and learning new things.
The family said in a statement Tuesday that they were grateful “for the concern being shown by our colleagues and friends and would like to request everyone to pray for their safety while granting the family privacy at this time.”
Paul-Henri Nargeolet
Paul-Henri Nargeolet, known as PH, a diver and Titanic researcher, was among the passengers. He was the director of Underwater Research at RMS Titanic Inc., according to the company.
Nargeolet led six expeditions to the Titanic site, most recently in 2010.
Stockton Rush
According to OceanGate’s website, Stockton Rush “oversees OceanGate’s financial and engineering strategies and provides a clear vision for development of 4,000 meter (13,123 feet) and 6,000 meter (19,685 feet) capable crewed submersibles and their partner launch and recovery platforms.”
Rush, who studied aerospace engineering at Princeton University and obtained an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley, “has written numerous engineering articles on crewed submersible vehicles in subsea operations,” OceanGate’s website said.
ABC News’ Matt Foster, Miles Cohen, Mark Guarino, Emily Shapiro, Peter Charalambous, Sam Sweeney, Laryssa Demkiw, Gio Benitez and Victoria Beaule contributed to this report.
File image of the Titan submersible prior to commence diving. (Ocean Gate)
(NEW YORK) — The search is intensifying for a submersible carrying five people that vanished while on a tour of the Titanic wreckage off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.
The 21-foot deep-sea vessel, operated by OceanGate Expeditions, lost contact about an hour and 45 minutes after submerging on Sunday morning with a 96-hour oxygen supply. That amount of breathable air is forecast to run out on Thursday morning, according to the United States Coast Guard, which is coordinating the search and rescue efforts.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Jun 22, 6:11 PM EDT
Navy detected sound of the implosion on Sunday: Official
A senior U.S. Navy official confirmed to ABC News that a secret underwater acoustic detection system heard on Sunday what was likely the implosion of the Titan submersible.
“The U.S. Navy conducted an analysis of acoustic data and detected an anomaly consistent with an implosion or explosion in the general vicinity of where the Titan submersible was operating when communications were lost,” the official told ABC News in a statement. “While not definitive, this information was immediately shared with the Incident Commander to assist with the ongoing search and rescue mission.”
Separately, a U.S. defense official said an analysis of the “banging” noises picked up by sonar buoys were not from the missing submersible but were either natural ocean sounds, biological noises or noises associated with the surface response vessels.
-ABC News’ Luis Martinez
Jun 22, 6:10 PM EDT
Hamish Harding remembered as ‘passionate explorer’
Hamish Harding, a British businessman who was among the five people killed in the Titan implosion, was remembered as a “passionate explorer” by his loved ones.
“Hamish Harding was a loving husband to his wife and a dedicated father to his two sons, whom he loved deeply,” a statement sent on behalf of his family and Action Aviation, the company he chaired, said. “To his team in Action Aviation, he was a guide, an inspiration, a support, and a Living Legend.”
“He was one of a kind and we adored him. He was a passionate explorer — whatever the terrain — who lived his life for his family, his business and for the next adventure,” the statement continued. “What he achieved in his lifetime was truly remarkable and if we can take any small consolation from this tragedy, it’s that we lost him doing what he loved.”
-ABC News’ Mark Guarino
Jun 22, 5:35 PM EDT
Explorer Robert Ballard on ‘extremely powerful’ implosion
Explorer Robert Ballard, who was on the 1985 expedition that discovered the Titanic wreckage and has made many dives since, reacted to news of the implosion with ABC News on Thursday.
“It’s very tragic what happened, I know the people that passed away,” he said, adding that he’s known OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, who was piloting the vessel, for 20 years. “I know this was his dream, so my heart goes out to him and his family and the families of all the people who lost loved ones.”
Ballard surmised the crew likely experienced difficulties and began to drop weights to ascend to the surface but “never made it.”
“If you’re on your way up and you’re buoyant and you don’t make it, it’s a catastrophic implosion,” he said.
“I don’t think people can appreciate the amazing energy involved in the destructive process of an implosion,” Ballard continued. “It just takes and literally shreds everything. So it’s extremely powerful.”
Jun 22, 5:04 PM EDT
Explorers Club remembers lost crew
The Explorers Club reacted to news of the submersible’s implosion, saying in a letter to members on Thursday: “Our hearts are broken.”
President Richard Garriott de Cayeux noted that two of the passengers lost in the implosion — Hamish Harding and Paul-Henri Nargeolet — were members of the Explorers Club, while OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush was a friend of the society who had conducted lectures at its headquarters.
“Hamish Harding is a dear friend to me personally and to The Explorers Club,” Garriott de Cayeux said. “He holds several world records and has continued to push dragons off maps both in person and through supporting expeditions and worthy causes.”
Nargeolet was “one of the foremost experts on submersible expeditions to the Titanic,” Garriott de Cayeux said.
“They were both drawn to explore, like so many of us, and did so in the name of meaningful science for the betterment of mankind,” he continued. “They pushed themselves in their entrepreneurial pursuits as they did in exploration.”
Jun 22, 4:37 PM EDT
James Cameron calls OceanGate’s carbon-fiber hull ‘fundamentally flawed’
In reacting to news of the OceanGate submersible implosion, “Titanic” director James Cameron told ABC News that he was “struck by the similarity of the Titanic disaster itself, where the captain was repeatedly warned about ice ahead of his ship and yet he steamed at full speed into an ice field.”
Cameron, who has built his own submersible, was critical of OceanGate’s use of a carbon-fiber hull, calling it “fundamentally flawed.”
OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, who was among the five passengers killed on the submersible, had previously said he believed a sub made with carbon fiber would have a better strength-to-buoyancy ratio than titanium.
Jun 22, 3:59 PM EDT
James Cameron reacts to implosion: ‘Quite surreal’
“Titanic” director James Cameron, who has explored the wreckage site himself, called the implosion “quite surreal” and noted that one of the passengers killed, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, was a friend of his.
“For him to have died tragically in this way is almost impossible for me to process,” Cameron told ABC News Thursday.
Jun 22, 3:11 PM EDT
Debris consistent with ‘catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber’
Coast Guard officials said a remote-operated vehicle found the tail cone of the Titan submersible about 1,600 feet from the bow of the Titanic Thursday morning.
Additional debris found was “consistent with the catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber,” Rear Adm. John Mauger, the First Coast Guard District commander, said during a press briefing.
The passengers’ families were immediately notified.
Five major pieces of debris were found, including the nose cone, officials said.
The debris indicates there was a “catastrophic implosion” of the vessel, Mauger said.
It’s too early to tell when the implosion occurred, officials said.
“This is an incredibly unforgiving environment down there on the seafloor,” Mauger said.
Jun 22, 2:52 PM EDT
All lives believed to be lost: OceanGate
All five aboard the missing submersible are believed to be lost amid a search for the vessel, OceanGate said.
“We now believe that our CEO Stockton Rush, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet, have sadly been lost,” OceanGate said in a statement.
“These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans,” the statement continued. “Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time. We grieve the loss of life and joy they brought to everyone they knew.”
Jun 22, 1:39 PM EDT
Canadian assets on scene for assistance
A Royal Canadian Navy ship HMCS Glace Bay has been on scene since about 8 a.m. ET Thursday morning. The ship provides a medical team specializing in dive medicine and a six-person mobile hyperbaric recompression chamber, according to officials.
Canadian Coast Guard ships John Cabot, Ann Harvey and Terry Fox are on scene and ready to provide rescue equipment and personnel should assistance be required. A Royal Canadian Air Force CP-140 Aurora aircraft is also maintaining continuous on-scene support with additional aircrews and assets, according to officials.
-ABC News’ Luke Barr
Jun 22, 12:10 PM EDT
‘Debris field’ discovered within search area, US Coast Guard says
The U.S. Coast Guard announced via Twitter late Thursday morning that “a debris field was discovered within the search area by” a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) “near the Titanic” wreckage.
“Experts within the unified command are evaluating the information,” the U.S. Coast Guard tweeted.
The Coast Guard is set to hold a briefing on the findings from the Horizon Arctic’s ROV at 3 p.m. ET.
Jun 22, 10:58 AM EDT
Crew members could survive for ‘hours’ after airtank depleted, doctor says
Despite their onboard oxygen tank expected to be depleted sometime Thursday morning, one doctor says they may have more time if the passengers are still alive. He estimates the five people aboard the lost Titanic tourist sub could survive for 10 to 20 hours with air still circulating through the experimental capsule.
Dr. Richard Moon, a professor of anesthesiology at Duke University, said that despite conditions being dire, those aboard the OceanGate Expedition’s submersible could extend the oxygen available after its tank is depleted by staying calm and moving as little as possible.
“The actual amount of time that they have is unpredictable, but it’s probably less than 24 hours after the final oxygen in the tank is depleted,” Moon, director of the Duke Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and Environmental Physiology, told ABC News.
Jun 22, 10:50 AM EDT
French ROV enters water in search area
The U.S. Coast Guard announced via Twitter on Thursday morning that a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) deployed by the French vessel L’Atalante has entered the water in the search area.
The U.S. Coast Guard also gave an update on the conditions at sea, saying winds were at 14 mph with gusts up to 19 mph, swells were 4 to 5 feet and the air temperature was 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
Jun 22, 7:19 AM EDT
Canadian ROV begins search on sea floor
The U.S. Coast Guard announced via Twitter early Thursday that a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) deployed by the Canadian vessel Horizon Arctic has reached the sea floor, beginning its search for the missing submersible.
Meanwhile, the French vessel L’Atalante is preparing its ROV to enter the water in the search area, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
Jun 22, 6:29 AM EDT
Search becomes dire as time runs out
Time is running out as rescuers race to locate and save five people trapped in a submersible that vanished during a tour of the Titanic wreckage on Sunday morning.
The deep-sea vessel submerged at 8 a.m. ET on Sunday with a 96-hour oxygen supply, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. That amount of breathable air is forecast to run out on Thursday morning.
The search and rescue mission remains ongoing.
Jun 22, 12:21 AM EDT
Wife of missing OceanGate CEO is great-great-granddaughter of couple who died on Titanic: NYT
The New York Times traced the lineage of Wendy Rush, wife of missing OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, and found that she’s the great-great-granddaughter of a couple who died on the Titanic, Isidor and Ida Straus.
The executive director of the Straus Historical Society told ABC News that The Times article, which cites archival records, is largely correct with regard to Wendy Weil Rush’s heritage.
Jun 21, 5:44 PM EDT
US Navy crane in Newfoundland but awaiting ship
A U.S. Navy portable crane system capable of bringing up items from as deep as 20,000 feet has arrived in St. John’s, Newfoundland, but is waiting to be welded onto a chartered ship to take it to the search area for the missing submersible, according to a U.S. Navy official.
The Navy has not yet contracted a ship for the salvage system, known as Fly Away Deep Ocean Salvage System or FADOSS, the official told reporters Wednesday. Once the ship is contracted, Navy teams will spend approximately 24 hours working around the clock to weld the system aboard the ship before it can leave port, the official said.
FADOSS is the salvage system the U.S. Navy uses for all of its deep-water recoveries. Last year, it was able to bring up an F/A-18 aircraft that had fallen into the waters of the Mediterranean Sea.
-ABC News’ Luis Martinez
Jun 21, 2:56 PM EDT
Head of Horizon Maritime, which owns the Polar Prince boat, holding out hope
The co-founder and Board chair of Horizon Maritime, the company that owns the Polar Prince boat that took the Titan submersible out to sea, is speaking out.
“We have been supporting the Titanic expeditions for several years,” Sean Leet said, calling the Polar Prince “an iconic former Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker that has been upgraded with advanced technology.”
“All protocols were followed” for the submersible’s mission, he said at a news conference Wednesday, calling the missing sub an “unprecedented” situation.
Equipment heading to search site can reach the depths of the submersible and potentially take it to the surface, he said.
“We wish to thank everyone involved in this rescue mission, especially the U.S. and Canadian Coast Guards, the organizations that have made their marina assets available including the French government … [and] the many private companies that have dropped everything at a moment’s notice,” Leet said.
“Our thoughts and focus remain with the crew of the Titan and their families,” he said.
Leet said he is holding out hope that the five-person crew will be brought home safely.
“We’ll continue to hold out hope until the very end,” he said.
Jun 21, 1:34 PM EDT
Coast Guard searching in area where noise was detected
As crews scour the Atlantic for the missing submersible, the Coast Guard said it’s searching in the area where a noise was detected.
The unidentified noise was detected Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
The data on the noise was sent to the U.S. Navy to be examined, he said.
“We have to remain optimistic and hopeful when we’re in a search and rescue mission,” Capt. Jamie Frederick, the First Coast Guard District response coordinator, said at a news conference Wednesday.
The five crew members submerged underwater Sunday morning with about 96 hours of oxygen available to them. That oxygen is forecast to run out Thursday morning.
When asked about the search becoming a recovery mission, Frederick said Wednesday, “We’re not there yet.”
Jun 21, 1:21 PM EDT
Coast Guard searching in area where noise was detected
As crews scour the Atlantic for the missing submersible, the Coast Guard said it’s searching in the area where a noise was detected.
The unidentified noise was detected Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
“We have to remain optimistic and hopeful when we’re in a search and rescue mission,” Capt. Jamie Frederick, the First Coast Guard District response coordinator, said at a news conference Wednesday.
The five crew members submerged underwater Sunday morning with about 96 hours of oxygen available to them. That oxygen is forecast to run out Thursday morning.
When asked about the search becoming a recovery mission, Frederick said Wednesday, “We’re not there yet.”
Jun 21, 12:56 PM EDT
Canada sends ship with advanced, deep sonar
One of the ships the Canadian Coast Guard sent to the rescue effort, the John Cabot, is equipped with advanced, deep sonar, said Joyce Murray, minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard.
“We’ve sent so many assets to the search team to help,” Murray said. “Authorities still have hope in the mission.”
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Jun 21, 12:47 PM EDT
Former passenger says his sub lost contact with host ship on all 4 trips
Mike Reiss, who has done four, 10-hour dives with OceanGate, including one to the Titanic, told ABC News his sub lost contact with the host ship on every dive.
“Every time they lost communication — that seems to be just something baked into the system,” he said.
With no GPS, Reiss said it took his crew three hours to find the Titanic despite landing just 500 yards from the ship.
Reiss said he signed “a waiver that mentions death three times on the first page.”
“It is always in the back of your head that this is dangerous, and any small problem will turn into a major catastrophe,” he said.
He said the submersible is built simply and is “just propelled by two fans on the outside.”
“Even I was able to steer and navigate the sub for a while,” he noted.
Reiss said his greatest fear was that the sub wouldn’t be able to release the weights that force it to submerge once it was time to rise to the surface.
-ABC News’ Gio Benitez and Sam Sweeney
Jun 21, 9:00 AM EDT
Would-be crew member of missing sub speaks out
Digital marketing tycoon Chris Brown originally planned to go on Sunday’s submersible tour of the Titanic wreckage but withdrew due to safety concerns. His friend, Hamish Harding, is among those aboard the missing vessel.
Brown, who described himself as a “modern day adventurer,” admitted that he knew “very little” about the tour operator, OceanGate Expeditions, prior to signing up. But he said the deep-sea trip initially sounded “like a great idea.”
“The Titanic’s obviously an iconic wreck,” Brown told ABC News’ Michael Strahan during an interview Wednesday on Good Morning America.
“OceanGate had put forward this program to go down and do a 3D scan of the wreck,” he added. “So it’s a chance for an expedition, exploration and adding a bit of science into the situation.”
Brown said safety concerns ultimately led him to pull out of the trip, but he declined to go into detail.
“I’m not really sure that this is the time to be going into that sort of thing,” he added. “I think that the focus right now has to be on trying to rescue these people. It’s not fair on the families and friends to be making speculation about what might’ve happened or how it happened at this point.”
Brown said he feels “no” apprehension about joining similar projects in the future but noted that it’s important to “think about all the risks.”
“If you don’t have an appetite for those risks, then you might not go ahead,” he said. “You may try and mitigate those by bringing in some expertise from outside. You might have other risks or dangers that could be mitigated by changing the time of when you go out there.”
Jun 21, 7:33 AM EDT
New details emerge about how the missing sub navigated the ocean
The submersible that was reported missing while on a tour of the underwater wreckage of the Titanic is an unorthodox vessel with a relatively unproven history, according to company press materials and experts familiar with underwater vehicles.
News of the vessel’s disappearance prompted a flurry of interest in the company OceanGate Expeditions and its deep-sea submersible called the Titan.
The company’s founder and CEO, Stockton Rush, who is one of the five people aboard the missing vessel, manned the Titan’s first “validation dive” to 4,000 meters in 2018, according to the company. The company then began offering tourists the opportunity to dive to the depths of the Titanic in the following years, selling tickets for the 2023 journey for $250,000.
Jun 21, 6:57 AM EDT
‘Banging’ picked up by sonar in search area, source says
A source familiar confirmed to ABC News that there were reports of “banging” that were picked up by sonar in the search area on Tuesday morning, but nothing has yet been found.
The U.S. Coast Guard had said early Wednesday that an aircraft with sonar capability “detected underwater noises in the search area,” but remotely operated vehicles were unable to find the origin of the sound.
Jun 21, 6:34 AM EDT
Titanic mapping company ‘fully mobilized’ to help
Magellan, an international exploration company that digitally mapped the Titanic wreckage last year, said Wednesday that it is “ready to support” the search for the missing submersible and is “fully mobilized to help.”
The U.K.-based company told ABC News that it was contacted by the submersible’s operator, OceanGate Expeditions, early Monday and “immediately offered our knowledge of the specific site and also our expertise operating at depth considerably in advance of what is required for this incident.”
“We have been working full-time with U.K. and U.S. agencies to secure the necessary air support to move our specialist equipment and support crew,” Magellan said in a statement.
When asked for comment about media reports that U.S. authorities have failed to give Magellan the necessary permits to participate in the search, the company told ABC News it “does not not wish to comment on any specific media report.”
Jun 21, 12:34 AM EDT
USCG: Canadian aircraft detected ‘underwater noises’ but search ‘yielded negative results’
“Canadian P-3 aircraft detected underwater noises in the search area,” the U.S. Coast Guard tweeted early Wednesday morning. “As a result, ROV operations were relocated in an attempt to explore the origin of the noises. Those ROV searches have yielded negative results but continue.”
The data from the P-3 has been shared with U.S. Navy experts for further analysis, the Coast Guard added.
Jun 21, 12:34 AM EDT
Lawsuit alleged flaws with Titanic sub now missing
A former employee of OceanGate alleged in a 2018 counterclaim lawsuit that he was fired for raising concerns about quality control and testing of potential flaws in the same experimental submersible that went missing this week.
David Lochridge, an engineer and submarine pilot, claimed in his counterclaim against OceanGate that he was hired in 2015 by the Everett, Washington, company to ensure the safety of all crew and clients during the submersible and surface operations of the vessel called Titan. But when he expressed concerns about the design and testing of the minisub’s hull, he said he was terminated by the company.
OceanGate had initially sued Lochridge alleging, among other things, breach of contract, fraud and misappropriation of trade secrets — all claims he denied.
In its lawsuit, OceanGate accused Lochridge of breaching his contract by discussing the company’s confidential information with the Occupational Health and Safety Administration “when he filed a false report claiming that he was discharged in retaliation for being a whistleblower.”
Jun 20, 10:15 PM EDT
Latest Coast Guard bulletin spells out timeline for missing sub search
The U.S. Coast Guard sent out its latest release Tuesday night on the search for the missing submersible at the Titanic crash site.
According to the latest release:
Sunday, June 18, 8 a.m. ET: Submersible launches, supposed to resurface at 3 p.m., but an hour and 45 minutes into the dive, it loses contact.
Sunday, June 18, 5:40 p.m. ET: Coast Guard receives report of overdue submersible.
Monday, June 19: Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina, and C-130 Hercules aircraft, as well as a Canadian P8 aircraft equipped with underwater sonar capability, search for the missing submersible, according to a previous release.
Tuesday, June 20, 7 a.m. ET: Bahamian research vessel Deep Energy arrives.
Tuesday, June 20, 4 p.m. ET: C-130 crew from Air National Guard 106th arrives.
Jun 20, 8:33 PM EDT
Experts expressed Titan safety concerns in 2018 letter
Members of a committee specializing in submersibles expressed “unanimous concern regarding the development” of Titan in a 2018 letter addressed to OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, who is one of the passengers aboard the missing vessel.
The letter was obtained by The New York Times and was later authenticated by ABC News.
The letter warned of possible “catastrophic” problems with Titan’s development that could have “serious consequences for everyone in the industry.” The letter goes on to say that OceanGate’s safety claims were “misleading to the public” and insisted Titan be reviewed by a third-party organization.
The letter, which was addressed from the Marine Technology Society, was never approved to be sent to OceanGate though was quickly leaked to its CEO, according to committee chair William Kohnen.
“The letter did represent in 2018 the consensus by many people in the industry that they were not considering following the standard safety protocols and designs that the industry uses,” Kohnen told ABC News.
Though he wishes it was not leaked at the time, nor now to The New York Times, Kohnen said he stands by the letter and its warnings.
“The company had indicated that their state of innovation was beyond, beyond what was allowable within the regulatory standards we have today and that they would proceed without certification,” Kohnen said. “That worried a number of people in the industry.”
Kohnen acknowledged that OceanGate did “heed” some of the comments made in the 2018 letter.
-ABC News’ Amanda Maile and Victor Ordoñez
Jun 20, 6:02 PM EDT
NASA weighs in on missing submersible
NASA released a statement Tuesday on the Titan, saying it remains “hopeful the crew will be found unharmed.”
“NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center had a Space Act Agreement with OceanGate, and consulted on materials and manufacturing processes for the submersible. NASA did not conduct testing and manufacturing via its workforce or facilities,” the agency said.
-ABC News’ Gina Sunseri
Jun 20, 6:17 PM EDT
Search teams have covered 7,600 square miles
Search and rescue teams have now covered 7,600 square miles — an area bigger than the state of Connecticut — as they scour the ocean for the missing submersible, Coast Guard officials said.
A grid depicting the expanding search area is expected Tuesday night, according to a public information affairs lieutenant for the First District of the U.S. Coast Guard.
-ABC News’ Miles Cohen
Jun 20, 3:09 PM EDT
US Navy sending salvage experts, equipment to help with submersible
The U.S. Navy said it’s sending to the search site experts and equipment “designed to provide reliable deep ocean lifting capacity for the recovery of large, bulky, and heavy undersea objects.”
The equipment, which can lift up to 60,000 pounds, and the experts will arrive in Canada Tuesday night, the Navy said.
National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said earlier Tuesday that the Navy was”on standby” to help with the search for the missing submersible, because the Navy has “some deep-water capabilities that the Coast Guard wouldn’t necessarily have.”
President Joe Biden is “watching events closely,” Kirby said, adding that Biden and the White House offer their thoughts “to the crew onboard, as well as to the — what is no doubt — worried family members back on shore.”
Jun 20, 1:24 PM EDT
3 Air Force C-17’s transporting equipment to Newfoundland
Three U.S. Air Force C-17 cargo aircraft will be transporting commercial equipment from Buffalo, New York, to Newfoundland, Canada, to help with the search efforts, according to a U.S. official.
-ABC News’ Luis Martinez
Jun 20, 1:16 PM EDT
Search area larger than Connecticut, about 41 hours of oxygen left
Efforts to locate the missing submersible are ongoing, and the “complex” search covers an area larger than the state of Connecticut, Coast Guard Capt. Jamie Frederick said at a news conference Tuesday.
Crews are scouring the ocean 900 miles east of Cape Cod and 400 miles south of St. John’s, Canada, he said.
The missing five-person crew on the submersible has about 41 hours of oxygen left, Frederick noted.
“We will do everything in our power to effect a rescue,” Frederick said.
“We have a group of our nation’s best experts,” he said, and once the sub is located, “those experts will be looking at what the next course of action is” to rescue the crew members.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the crew and their families and their loved ones,” Frederick added.
Jun 20, 12:58 PM EDT
Former ABC News correspondent recounts moment his sub was trapped in Titanic’s propeller
In 2000, Dr. Michael Guillen, then an ABC News correspondent, was filming from the wreck of the Titanic when his vessel became trapped in the propeller.
“When we collided with the propeller, and I started seeing those big chunks of metal raining down on us … the first reaction I had was, ‘This can’t be happening,'” he recalled to ABC News on Tuesday.
“We got caught by this underwater turn and just drove us right into the blades,” Guillen said.
“This voice came into my head and said, you know, ‘This is how it’s going to end for you,'” he recalled. “I’ll never forget those words.”
“I’m very aware of what these poor souls on board the ship the Titan are experiencing,” he said. “I am just heartbroken about it.”
Jun 20, 11:35 AM EDT
French sending assistance
At the request of French President Emmanuel Macron, a French ship named Atalante is diverting to the area of the missing submissive and should reach the area Wednesday night.
The ship has an exploration robot that can dive up to 4,000 meters, according to a spokesman for France’s Ifremer Institute.
Jun 20, 9:04 AM EDT
‘It’s a race against time’
Per Wimmer, an explorer and global financier, told ABC News he was “shocked” and “horrified” to hear of the missing submersible.
“It felt very personal. … I’ve been wanting to go down to the Titanic for more than a decade,” Wimmer said.
He estimated that there’s been between 150 and 200 missions to the Titanic.
There “are very, very few submersibles in the whole world that can go down to the depth of Titanic, which sits at 3,800 meters, or about 12,000 feet,” Wimmer said. “It’s very deep — most submersibles can go down to about 1,000 meters.”
“It’s a race against time, because there’s only 96 hours of oxygen on board. And after that, if you haven’t reached the surface, you starve of oxygen,” he said.
“Our best hope at the moment is that the safety mechanism will be activated,” he said. “It is supposed to be able to float to the surface, little by little, and then they can open the hatch and hopefully get out again. That is the only hope we have, because you do not have enough time to get another submersible that can go that deep.”
Jun 20, 8:19 AM EDT
What to know about the 5 people aboard the missing sub
Renowned explorers and a father-son duo were among the five people aboard a submersible that disappeared in the Atlantic Ocean on Sunday while touring the Titanic wreckage, ABC News has learned.
ABC News has confirmed and identified four of those on aboard as Hamish Harding, a British businessman, pilot and space tourist; Paul-Henri Nargeolet, a French diver and Titanic expert; Shahzada Dawood, a Pakistani businessman, and his son Suleman Dawood.
Jun 20, 7:48 AM EDT
US Coast Guard commander talks search for missing sub
The United States Coast Guard commander leading the search for a missing submersible off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, said Tuesday morning that crews in multiple aircraft have flown over an area of the Atlantic Ocean “roughly about the size of Connecticut” while “looking for any signs of surfacing.”
“As we continue on with the search, we’re expanding our capabilities to be able to search under the water as well,” Rear Adm. John Mauger, commander of the First Coast Guard District, told ABC News’ Robin Roberts during an interview on Good Morning America.
A commercial vessel with remotely operated vehicles is now on scene that will allow rescuers to search underwater, according to Mauger.
“This is a complex case,” he added. “The Coast Guard doesn’t have all the resources to be able to affect this kind of rescue, although this is an area that’s within our search zone.”
In many cases, Mauger said, the Coast Guard’s role is to coordinate all of the assets and technical expertise that can be used in a search, in addition to operating aircraft or ships when necessary.
“In this particular case, we’ve established a unified command with the United States Navy, with the Canadian Armed Forces, with the Canadian Coast Guard and with the private operator OceanGate Expeditions to make sure that we understand what’s needed and deploy all available equipment to the scene that could be used to locate this submersible, whether it’s on the surface or down beneath the surface,” he said.
Crews have been working “around the clock” to locate the deep-sea vessel since it lost contact with its operator on Sunday morning, according to Mauger.
In the last 24 hours, a Canadian aircraft has been dropping sonar buoys into the water that can pick up sound the submersible may be emitting. Vessels that have the capability to listen with their own sonar equipment are also on scene, according to Mauger.
“If they are making sound, that’s certainly one of the ways that we’re going to use to locate them,” he said.
Jun 20, 6:18 AM EDT
Missing sub is believed to be deeper than NATO rescue capability
A tourist submersible that disappeared in the Atlantic Ocean on Sunday is believed to be at depths that greatly exceed the capabilities of the NATO Submarine Rescue System (NSRS), according to a spokesperson for the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense.
“As the host nation for NATO’s multinational submarine rescue capability, we continue to monitor the incident in the North Atlantic and will guide and assist in any response activity as appropriate,” the spokesperson told ABC News in a statement on Tuesday.
The U.K. has not been approached to offer assistance in the ongoing search for the deep-sea vessel off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, according to the spokesperson.
Initial reports indicate that the depths of water involved greatly exceed that which the NSRS team can safely operate — 610 meters for the NSRS submersible and 1,000 meters for the NSRS remotely operated vehicle, according to the spokesperson.
The NSRS is based at the home of the U.K. Royal Navy Submarine Service in HM Naval Base Clyde, the U.K. Royal Navy’s headquarters in Scotland. Introduced in 2006, the tri-national capability team can respond to a stricken submarine in rescuable water which is capable of mating with the NSRS submarine rescue vehicle, according to the spokesperson.
Jun 20, 5:03 AM EDT
Former Navy sub captain on rescue options
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 U.S. 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.
“The odds are against them,” Marquet said. “There’s a ship in Boston that has this ability to either lower cable and connect to it or have a claw. It’s still a thousand miles away.”
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, according to Marquet.
“You’ve got to get it exactly right,” he told ABC News. “It’s sort of like … getting one of those toys out of those arcade machines. In general, you miss.”
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.
Marquet added that if the five people aboard are still alive, they would be asked to sleep to conserve their oxygen.
“We would put the vast majority of the crew to sleep because that’s when you’re using the least amount of oxygen and you’re expelling the least amount of carbon dioxide,” he said.
Jun 20, 4:27 AM EDT
What to know about the missing sub
A submersible on a tour of the Titanic wreckage was reported overdue by its operator OceanGate Expeditions on Sunday, prompting the United States Coast Guard to launch a search and rescue effort for the 22-foot, 23,000-pound vessel.
Designed with life support to sustain five crew members for 96 hours, the submersible would need to be rescued in three days to save its five passengers, according to the Coast Guard.
Stockton Rush founded Washington-based OceanGate in 2009 to make deep-sea exploration more accessible to scientists and tourists. Fourteen years, more than 200 dives and three submersible designs later, the company now finds itself in a desperate search to recover the submersible carrying five people aboard that’s gone missing off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.
OceanGate confirmed Monday it had lost contact with a submersible, saying in a statement: “We are exploring and mobilizing all options to bring the crew back safely. Our entire focus is on the crewmembers in the submersible and their families. We are working toward the safe return of the crewmembers.”
(EL PASO, Texas) — U.S. Customs and Border Protection saw right through a commercial refrigeration unit that, instead of being used to make ice cream, had been stuffed with more than 100 pounds of cocaine, officials said Thursday.
Customs officers in El Paso, Texas, seized 146 pounds of the narcotic after discovering it had been bundled up and hidden in the walls of the ice cream maker and then detected by X-ray technology at a federal border crossing on Monday, according to a CBP news release.
One official estimated the street value of the drugs at $1.2 million.
Authorities rely on X-ray technology to quickly inspect large volumes of commercial traffic through U.S. ports of entry. Officers are responsible for delicately balancing security concerns with the need to keep commercial trade flowing.
On Monday, officials took a closer look at a red pick-up truck crossing at the Bridge of the Americas, CBP said. When the X-ray revealed an abnormal image pattern, CBP relied on the help of a trained dog to sniff out the drugs. The cocaine was found in 56 tightly packed bundles.
A 43-year-old man, a Mexican national, was driving the truck and was sent to the custody of Texas police to face charges, according to CBP.
“The vast majority of commercial shipments CBP officers process pose little risk. However seizures like this remind us all that drugs can be concealed almost anywhere and that we must remain constantly vigilant,” acting CBP El Paso Port Director Luis Mejia said in a statement.
Imported products valued at billions of dollars are processed through U.S. ports of entry each day, according to CBP.
Additionally, more than half a million travelers arrive through land ports of entry on a daily basis.
With roughly 33,400 pounds seized so far this budget year, CBP is detecting less cocaine compared to last year. Unlike cannabis, cocaine and fentanyl can pack a deadly punch in smaller packages.
“The intelligence and investigative work being conducted by DHS Agencies and with our federal partners to disrupt the fentanyl supply chain is unprecedented,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement.
Over the past two years, the department seized more fentanyl than the previous five years, Mayorkas said.
The Department of Homeland Security on Thursday announced two new anti-fentanyl operations aimed at disrupting both the production supply chain and trafficking routes of the ultra-deadly synthetic opioid.
