A TV host has shared his description of how he nearly died on a trip to see the wreck of the Titanic as the desperate search continued to locate five people who disappeared on a submersible making the same journey.
Rescuers are in a race against time to locate the Titan sub, operated by OceanGate Expeditions, which was reported missing on Sunday evening in the mid-Atlantic about 435 miles south of St John’s, Newfoundland, Canada.
Five people are on board the small vessel, including British billionaire Hamish Harding, which lost contact about an hour and 45 minutes into its dive towards the wreck.
On Monday, Dr Michael Guillen – a US TV reporter, former Science Editor and best-selling author – described an accident that “almost claimed my life” during a trip to see the wreckage while working for ABC News in 2000.
He tweeted a video of an old news report showing the moment his Mir 1 submersible got wedged beneath the stern wreck and the 21-tonne propellers.
A TV Host’s Near-Death Journey to the Titanic Wreck
Dr Guillen later described the moment they got stuck at the support of the Atlantic Ocean, saying: “You know, like if your car gets stuck in the mud and you try to go forward and then back… that’s what he (operator) was trying to do with our little sub, and I could hear the engine struggling.”
A former TV journalist has told how he’s almost died in a submersible that got stuck in the wreck of the Titanic – as a search continues today for five people who are missing 12,500ft underwater.
British billionaire Hamish Harding, Shahzada Dawood, 48, one of Pakistan’s wealthiest men and a UK-based board member of the Prince’s Trust, and his son Sulaiman, 19, are among the group stuck in the 22ft underwater craft operated by OceanGate.
While efforts continue to find them before their oxygen runs out, ex-ABC science editor Michael Guillen revealed his own terrifying experience in 2000 when he became the first TV correspondent to visit the wreck in a sub-two and a half miles under the Atlantic Ocean off Newfoundland.
News footage shared by Dr Guillen told how the vessel was suddenly caught in a strong underwater current that pushed it towards the Titanic’s 21-ton propellers.
After becoming wedged under the stern, the crew tried to reverse out – at this point, a bang was heard as chunks of debris were seen floating through the water.
News footage shared by Dr Guillen told how the vessel was suddenly caught in a strong underwater current that pushed it towards the Titanic’s 21-ton propellers.
A TV Host’s Harrowing Encounter
After becoming wedged under the stern, the crew tried to reverse out – at this point, a bang was heard as chunks of debris were seen floating through the water.
Mike Reiss took the extra paper with him to the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean in case the deep-sea submersible didn’t return to the surface after getting a glimpse of the sunken Titanic last year. He wanted to ensure he had something to write some final jokes on.
Reiss – an Emmy Award-winning writer-producer for “The Simpsons” – descended 13,000 feet with four others inside OceanGate Expedition’s Titan submersible to see the historical wreckage.
“He knew this was very dangerous,” Reiss’ wife, Denise, told The Post Tuesday. “Even in the most dire situations, he has a joke.”
Reiss returned safely – but now the carbon-fibre submersible is missing. On board are OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush; Paul-Henry Nargeolet, a marine archaeologist who has made dozens of dives to the site; British billionaire explorer Hamish Harding; and British-Pakistani father Shahzada Dawood and his son Sulaiman, scions of a business dynasty.
A small handful of people have been to the bottom of the vessel, including Reiss. In July last year, the Reisses paid more than $100,000 – they declined to say precisely how much – to be part of the expedition.
They flew from home in New York to St. John’s, Newfoundland, then set sail on board the MV Polar Prince, steaming south for 400 miles.
There was plenty of time to contemplate the dangers of such a precarious trip to the bottom of the ocean.
“Death is always lurking; it’s always in the back of your mind,” Reiss, 63, told The Post. “Before you even get on the boat, there’s a long, long waiver that mentions death three times on page one.”
The Polar Prince stopped roughly above the Titanic’s wreckage, where it has sat since April 15, 1912, seen by only a few hundred people. More people have been in space than have set eyes on it.
