20 June 2023 , 09:55
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The last text of British billionaire Hamish Harding, who is onboard the missing Titanic submersible, has been revealed.
A desperate hunt is underway to find the OceanGate submarine that went missing on a trip down to the bottom of the ocean, to see the wreckage of the Titanic.
But on its 4,000m trip down, the sub lost contact sparking fears for the safety of the five passengers on board.
Along with Mr Harding, a father and son duo, a French pilot and OceanGate’s CEO are all onboard.
But a close pal of Mr Harding revealed one of the last messages he sent out before they launched the sub.
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Retired NASA astronaut Colonel Terry Virts said Mr Harding had messaged him just the day before the voyage.
Shahzada Dawood (pictured) and his son Sulaiman Dawood were on board the small underwater craft (Engro)
Hamish Harding (Dirty Dozen Productions/AFP via)Speaking to ITV’s Good Morning, he said Mr Harding had messaged him: “Hey, we're headed out tomorrow, it looks good, the weather's been bad so they've been waiting for this.”
The US Coast Guard is leading the rescue operation amid fears that the missing submariners may only have enough oxygen to last until around midday Thursday.
Rescuers worked desperately through the night in a race against time and continued searching this morning.
French mariner Paul-Henry Nargeolet
Oceangate CEO Stockton Rush is on board the missing submersible (OceanGate)Colonel Virts added: “We don't really talk about risks, it's known. He understood the risks for sure, there's no doubt about that.
“The last text I got was, ‘Hey, we're headed out tomorrow, it looks good, the weather's been bad so they've been waiting for this’.
“He went down to the deepest part of the ocean, set a few world records… at the Mariana Trench [deepest part of the ocean] and we talked quite a bit about the risks and the different things that they were going to be able to do. So he was very excited about it.”
The timeline of the missing submersible vessel (Press Association Images)Mr Harding is a known explorer and adventurer who has been to space on Jeff Bezos’ space program, to the South Pole, twice, and holds three world records
Last night, his stepson, Brian Szasz, made a touching post on Facebook before he removed it.
It said: "Thoughts and prayers for my Mom and Hamish Harding.
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"Hamish Harding, my stepfather, has gone missing on submarine thoughts and prayers."
In his last Instagram post, Mr Harding announced he would be heading out on the voyage, picturing himself signing a Titanic Expedition Mission V.
The submersible is an OceanGate submarine (PA)The Brit was clearly excited for the adventure in the post and spoke about the dire weather conditions, and the route they would take.
He said: "I am proud to finally announce that I joined @oceangateexped for their RMS TITANIC Mission as a mission specialist on the sub going down to the Titanic.
"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. A weather window has just opened up and we are going to attempt a dive tomorrow. We started steaming from St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada yesterday and are planning to start dive operations around 4am tomorrow morning. Until then we have a lot of preparations and briefings to do.
"The team on the sub has a couple of legendary explorers, some of which have done over 30 dives to the RMS Titanic since the 1980s including PH Nargeolet.
"More expedition updates to follow IF the weather holds!"
The British billionaire announced over the weekend he was taking part in the voyage (Jane Rawlins)Along with him, father son duo Shahzada Dawood, 48, and Sulaiman Dawood, 19, were on board, believed to have paid $250,000 (around £195,000) to take part in the journey.
Mr Dawood is said to be one of Pakistan’s richest men and lives in a Surrey mansion along with his family.
A board member of the Prince’s Trust, he came to the UK to study after being born in Pakistan.
Paul-Henry Nargeolet is reportedly a French navy veteran and “leading authority” on the Titanic.
He’s said to have gone to the wreckage several times, and has previously spoke openly about the risks faced when diving.
The wreckage of the Titanic, almost 4000m underwater (OceanGate Expeditions)The final member of the crew was OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush - the company behind the dive which he founded in 2009.
At the age of 19, he became the youngest jet transport rated pilot in the world, and flew all over the world for three years before he became a test pilot in 1984.
But his dreams of continuing as a pilot were scuppered by poor eyesight, The Telegraph reported.