For those who are unaware: A couple billionaires, a pilot, and one of the billionaires’ son are currently stuck inside an extremely tiny sub a couple thousand meters under the sea (inside of the sub with the guys above).
They were supposed to dive down to the titanic, but lost connection about halfway down. They’ve been missing for the past 48 hours, and have 2 days until the oxygen in the sub runs out. Do you think they’ll make it?
It really depends on how they went. Sudden implosion of the hull, quick and easy.
Floating around for days until your air runs out, wondering if someone will find you… Not so much.
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It’s interesting how just 6 days ago, a boat with 750 people on board, including 100 kids, capsized near Greece, only 104 survived, and it’s less of an issue than those billionaires
The Greece tragedy is lacking the irony and hubris of this.
I mean, it’s a tourist submersible that was aiming to bring billionaires to view the Titanic wreckage and it likely got wrecked itself. And they named the submersible Titan.
The sub’s company OceanGate was dinged by a former employee for all sorts of safety issues and they fired and sued him. There are also lots of choice quotes from the CEO (who happens to be on the vessel) about moving fast and breaking things, and regulations stifling innovation. So there’s some possible karma involved.
I think it’s because the story about a missing submersible is unusual, and moreover, it’s about a rescue attempt. This makes it more interesting than many other, albeit more dreadful, news stories.
750 people drowning is also unusual, and there’s also been rescue attempts.
All these victims have loved ones, and i don’t wish death on anyone, but for the billionaires I find it quite hard to care much.
I still hope they’re saved, though; and if they are I very much hope the experience will have changed them.
That’s just not the same. Drowning is quick and if you don’t save them immediately they’re most likely dead. Slowly suffocating in a sub while the clock ticks and something can be done about it is a different story.
Learn to care.
You’re assuming they’re suffocating, when the smallest fault in the hull’s integrity would make the thing implode, killing them before they realized what was happening.
Like everyone, my ability to care has limits. You can’t worry and care about everything. I’ll give my fucks for those who didn’t grow rich exploiting others, thanks.
750 people drowning is also unusual
It’s terrible but not that unusual.
I bet thousands had a worse end in Ukraine these days.
It’s not a contest.
I live in Ukraine and I hope those people in the submersible will be rescued.
No, nor do I think they should be. There will be millions of wasted taxpayer dollars wasted on trying to recover rich people’s dead bodies. They signed a waiver and knew what they were getting into. There’s nothing to be learned from whatever happened, since the company was clearly negligent. Let them rest on the ocean floor beside the other rich assholes.
That’s a bit harsh. If there’s anything that works in modern society pretty reliably regardless of status, it’s search and rescue. Sunk subs can also be an environmental hazard.
I agree woth this post. Wealth has nothing to do with this. And if they survive they can easily pay the bill.
Pretty hilarious that you think a billionaire would foot the bill if they are (or their families if they’re not) rescued.
There is no rescue in this instance, only an expensive recovery. And there are enough environmental hazards in the world at this point, that I don’t think a 5m sub on the sea floor is going to matter much. Most climbers are abandoned to their fate as they made the reckless decision to ascend, just as these people made the reckless decision to descend.
It’s still part of S&R. Lost swimmers, ships, small planes, or just people lost in the woods, there are always attempts for recovery long after any chance of survival is gone.
Yea climbers may be abandoned very high up on Everest, when there’s no safe way to bring them down. But subs, we do look for subs. Let’s not needlessly be dicks about it.
Let’s not needlessly be dicks about it.
You do you. I will be whatever I want about it however.
It’s kinda poetic for them to go down next to the titanic, itself a story of complacency and excess/opulance.
There is so much misinformation around all of this (which isn’t helped by two of the largest social media networks being compromised) but:
If the “someone is knocking every 30 minutes and is near the surface” is true? Yeah, I think they will be rescued. That can be triangulated and they are near enough to the surface that a rescue is “low risk”. Whether they are in good shape after that rescue is anyone’s guess.
But in the likely event that this is wishful thinking? No. Time is running out (last twelve-ish hours if I can do timezones right?) and the likelihood is that any rescue attempt will be a severe risk to the team doing the rescue. That is not the kind of thing you can do as a last second race against time. We might find the sub but I genuinely do not believe we have the ability to mount a rescue in that amount of time. And the risk of something like “have a military sub lift them up” is not something anyone will sign off on.
I would also say that I don’t think people SHOULD be risking their lives at this point. We’re looking at a case of people who took an informed risk and understood that there was danger associated with the recreational activity they were undertaking. These people either had vast monetary resources and could have consulted the best experts in the world, or had significant prior experience and knowledge. While obviously withholding information interferes with informed consent, and that may or may not have played a role, I don’t think this is morally equivalent to rescuing someone from a burning building. There’s also simple probability - the odds of rescuing them alive and well aren’t good, and to put someone else’s life at risk for the off chance that they succeed would be unethical in my opinion.
Eh. I am very much not going to be losing too much sleep over a few billionaires dying from their own decisions.
But these were almost definitely not informed decisions. Even ignoring the current revelations that the company was even sketchier than one would have imagined: I am not sure how many “extreme” sports things you have done. The “So if you die it is totally your fault and not ours and even if we were criminally negligent, you will defend us” waiver is incredibly common. And without a proper understanding of the material science involved, it would come across as “as dangerous as sky diving”
I do very much blame the guy who apparently had dedicated his life to the Titanic. But the other rich folk are in the same category as someone living in a visibly dangerous/condemned building. If a rescue can be done with comparatively low risk: Go for it. If it is likely to kill the rescuers… maybe erase a few recordings.
I’m a bit confused that this is receiving so much attention. What’s so special about this case compared to all the other cases of people being lost at sea every year, besides them being rich?
Honestly, this case is somewhat extraordinary, in a deeply disturbing way.
First there was this amazing quote from the CEO who is missing on the craft right now
“You know, at some point, safety is just pure waste,” Rush told CBS’ David Pogue during an episode of his “Unsung Science” podcast. “I mean, if you just want to be safe, don’t get out of bed, don’t get in your car, don’t do anything. At some point, you’re going to take some risk, and it really is a risk-reward question.”
Second, aside from being made from questionable experimental materials, the sub was being controlled by an old, off brand xbox controller. There were numerous design and safety issues that were known at the time of departure. They kinda just did whatever in the F they wanted to. It’s a millionaire game of Fuck Around and Find Out and they’re not used to finding out.
Third, the damage waiver
The disclaimer, read out by CBS correspondent David Pogue, read: “This experimental submersible vessel has not been approved or certified by any regulatory body, and could result in physical injury, disability, emotional trauma, or death.”
A nervous-looking Pogue makes a face and says, “Where do I sign?” in the footage recorded when he went on the $250,000 (£195,000) trip to see the Titanic at the end of last year.
I get that it’s just some rich idiots (and one of their kids) crossing the river styx, but it’s not very often you see such amazing disregard for basic safety.
I don’t get why the Logitech controller is so focused on. I get that it’s probably not the right controller due to it’s age and wireless only nature but COTS parts are often more reliable than in-house ones. The lack of certification as you mentioned is a much larger issue.
I’m gonna go out on limb and say they’re no longer with us.
Yeah I don’t think you’re very far out on that limb. The likelihood of successful rescue is extremely low.
I can’t really believe anybody would spend $250K on a submarine expedition with the guy in charge of Ocean Gate, and his incredibly cavalier attitude toward safety.
Yea when I first heard about this I kinda just wrote them off tbh. The ocean is massive and moving, plus they’re in a glorified, malfunctioning, soup can.
I’ve never heard of the guy, but I can imagine based on that description jeez.
“It’s all apart of the experience” probably.
Maybe for a camping trip, but not this lol. Your already completely and literally out of your element.
Is this the actual sub? It’s just a tube, this looks awful.
I’m not sure that they have a 5 star restaurant built in… but obviously, deep sea subs need to be smaller in size or they just won’t work.
unlikely. sub rescues are hardly successful. Their sub could have imploded, fast way to die. Had a power failure wich would takes days to die either from a lack of o2 or possibly the cold. Or it reached the surface and they got to look out at thet ocean until about noon their time tomorrow unable to open the hatch and slowly die from a lack of air.
What a horrible way to go. Hopefully rescuers succeed.
That being said, judging by the photo, if they are still viewing everything through a screen, what was the point going down with the submarine and not just sending a robot with a video feed?
The 5 submariners chances of being rescued are very slim at this point but much much higher than the 500 migrants still missing off the coast of Greece who took to the waters not for a joy ride but to escape war and seek a better life.
I understand, not that their lives don’t matter. It’s just that we don’t pay attention to the ones that really do.
I would say that all reasonable efforts should be made to rescue or recover anyone and everyone who has gone missing. We can figure out the rest once we exhaust all optons, or have them back on the boat.
Reasonable efforts? Is it reasonable to send out several militaries and spend endless taxpayer money to rescue a bunch of idiots out joyriding?
To me it seems like a good “excuse” for an exercise for those militaries?
I agree. The value isn’t necessarily the recovery of the individuals (though, cool bonus if possible.) The value is a real S&R mission for the parties involved, as well as data relating to how exactly the sub failed
Unrelated note, on the off chance that these people are rescued, I imagine reading these comment threads about this event is going to be fuckin WILD
Just imagine, these idiots spend 250k to sit in a iron tube controlled by a cheap offbrand playstation controller but won’t spend any of their money to improve the world. Only satisfying their own ego and greed. I can’t feel sorry for them, best I can do is hope that they imploded so they didn’t have to suffer too long.
I’m not really in the business of defending billionaires but I think at least one of them, the guy who brought his son, was involved with charities:
"He works with his family’s Dawood Foundation, as well as the SETI Institute - a California-based research organisation which searches for extra-terrestrial life.
“Shahzada is also a supporter of two charities founded by King Charles - the British Asian Trust and the Prince’s Trust International.”
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-65955554
He sounds (sounded) like a good person… I do find it interesting that the other billionaires don’t have any mentions of charitable works in articles I’ve read in them.
Every billionaire uses charities.
They’re a way to exert control over the money that would normally go to taxes, and be up to the government to spend.
It’s not inherently bad, but charity is not quite the saving grace of billionaires that many make it out to be.
Poor pilot :(
the pilot is/was the sub company’s CEO. He’d fired the whistleblower who’s pointed out the sub’s faults.
That’s some karma.
According to David Lochridge (their Director of Marine Operations who was fired and sued for whistleblowing), the passenger viewport was only certified for depths of up to 1,300 meters (4,265 feet), and OceanGate would not pay for the manufacturer to build a viewport certified for 4,000 meters, the depth at which the Titanic rested. .
I don’t understand…
So, the CEO knows this, decided against upgrading the viewpoint putting his giga wealthy customers at risk, who likely could sue him or just straight up ruin him, decided to go with it anywa, AND boarded the sub himself.
My brain doesn’t comprehend this logic.
The cognitive dissonance displayed here is appalling. So many envious and evil fucks showing zero empathy for other humans dying a terrible death just because they have more money. Jesus fuck, people. If your life view makes you that uncaring of other humans then you need to pick a new life view or start getting on submarines yourself. You sit on the internet gleefully relishing in the deaths of others like that makes you more compassionate of poor people somehow?
Gross. You people are gross.
Hundreds of migrants drowned in the Mediterranean like not even more than a few days ago and I’ve seen at least 20x more of this kind of sentiment for a handful of rich dudes that wanted to go visit the titanic in a un-certified pringles can created by a company that recently fired it’s director of marine operations because he wouldn’t sign off on the safety of this thing. Their company website says they are not certified because certification impedes innovation 😵💫
Like I saw on Twitter yesterday these dudes are the deadest that anyone has ever been, whether you cry-yell at people on the internet for not being sufficiently crestfallen or not
It’s amazing how much manufactured empathy you can buy with money
