A tourist submersible went missing in the Atlantic Ocean after launching to take five people to visit the Titanic wreckage site underwater on Monday. British billionaire Hamish Harding is among those feared to have boarded the submarine and now gone missing.
A frantic marine search has been launched to find the lost sub which was operated by tour company OceanGate Expeditions. At 1 p.m. Monday, the sub had just 72 hours of oxygen left, according to the US Coast Guard Admiral, who is leading the search and rescue mission.
Harding excitedly posted on social media about the expedition a day before the submarine went missing. The post read: “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 4 am tomorrow morning. Until then we have a lot of preparations and briefings to do.”
Hamish Harding family
Not much is known about Hamish Harding’s family as they prefer to keep out of the spotlight. Hamish is married to his wife Linda. They share two sons named Rorry and Giles, as well as a stepdaughter named Lauren.
After his disappearance, his stepson Brian Szasz said on Facebook: “Thoughts and prayers for my stepfather Hamish Harding as his submarine has gone missing exploring Titanic. A search and rescue mission is underway. Thoughts and prayers for my mom and Hamish Harding.”
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Hamish has occasionally posted family pictures on his Facebook account. In one of the photos dated July 26, 2019, Hamish could be seen posing with his wife and two sons to receive a Guinness Book of World Records certificate.
In 2019, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, Harding, along with astronaut Col. Terry Virts, led a team of aviators that captured the Guinness World Record for circumnavigation of the earth via North and South Poles in a Gulfstream G650ER in 46 hours 40 minutes.
“With family at the Living Legends of Aviation press conference where Guinness World Records adjudicator Joanne Brent presented #OneMoreOrbit with its certificate for breaking a world record,” he wrote in the caption of the photo