I went on missing Titan sub – I feared for my life when batteries suddenly drained and we lost communication for 2 HOURS
A MAN who previously went missing on the Titan submersible has told of the horror two hours he spent lost at the depths of the ocean.
Alan Estrada was onboard the Titan in 2022 when its batteries suddenly lost power during a dream trip to see the RMS Titanic.
The Mexican born actor paid $125,000 to ensure a four hour visit at the wreckage but it was cut short when the vessel’s energy source was drained to 40 per cent.
Moments before, Estrada was pictured inside the craft at 12,000ft with the remains of the sunken ship seen through the porthole behind him.
However, the selfie opportunities were short lived with the crew only spending an hour at the site before returning to the surface.
And amid the desperate search for the five missing persons, the man has taken to YouTube to speak of his own terrifying experience.
He said: “For safety reasons this is completely understandable when the last battery – the submersible has two batteries – when the second battery has only 40 percent left, it is necessary to return to the surface for safety.
“This means that the four hours that they tell you that you are going to be down there are not fulfilled.”
Estrada told the DailyMail the two-hour communications blackout during the voyage was terrifying.
He said: “My biggest concern was obviously losing my life.
“All the people who made this expedition… we are aware of the risks we are taking.
“Because it is an experimental submersible, many things can happen and we were aware that not only something could happen that could put your life at risk.”
Later in his YouTube video, Estrada pointed to a communications issue the crew faced underwater.
He said: “After 1,000 metres, Scott, the pilot, detects a failure in his communication system.
“It is vital that we can communicate with the surface, otherwise we can get lost and drift in the middle of the ocean.”
The investigation into the deep-sea vessel that went missing on Sunday also found it lost contact for an hour and 45 minutes after it began its descent.
The Titan submarine was carrying five passengers, including Stockton Rush, Hamish Harding, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Shahzada Dawood and his son Sulaiman Dawood.
The crew has not been seen since, with a desperate search for the vessel continuing as the air keeping them alive runs out at noon today.
Estrada and his fellow passengers, however, were more fortunate after their pilot was able to release a ballast tank from each side that helped it ascend.
The vessel eventually regained communication with the ship at the surface and continued its journey.
It comes as the mission to rescue the missing Titanic mini-sub enters its final hours — as sounds of banging from deep underwater raised hopes of a last-gasp miracle.
A US Navy CURV21 was among robot subs joining the last-ditch bid to find lost craft Titan in the Atlantic and winch it to the surface.
A fleet of rescue ships is racing against time to locate the sub.
Five specialist vessels backed by deep-sea robots and search-and-rescue aircraft were already combing a vast 15,000 square mile zone up to a depth of 2½ miles.
But their number was due to double before the air supply deadline at around noon UK time today.
The late arrivals — carrying the world’s most advanced undersea search technology — provide the best hope of an incredible last-gasp rescue.
Experts hope they can end the “needle in a haystack” hunt near the liner’s wreck, 12,500ft under the North Atlantic.
Five people were on board the mini-sub Titan, which went missing on Sunday during a dive to view the Titanic.
US Coast Guard captain Jamie Frederick yesterday confirmed deep-sea noises had been heard which were being analysed by sonar experts to establish if they came from the 22ft craft.
He said: “There is an enormous complexity associated with this case, due to the location being so far off shore and the coordination between multiple agencies and nations.
“There were multiple reports of noises and every one of them is being analysed.
“The noises have been described as banging noises.”
However, so far, Captain Frederick said the searches have yielded negative results.
He said: “The noises were heard yesterday and this morning, experts are analysing the data but at the moment it is inconclusive.
“We need to have hope… what I can tell you is we are searching in the right area.
“We have to remain optimistic and hopeful when we are in a search-and-rescue case.”
Carl Hartsfield, another expert involved in the search, told reporters it was very tough to discern what the noises were.
He said: “We have multiple sensors in the area taking the data back to the best people in the world and feeding this back to the team so they can make decisions.
“They have to eliminate potential manmade sources other than the Titanic.”
Canada’s CGS Ann Harvey, CGS Terry Fox, Motor Vessel Horizon Arctic and French research ship L’Atalante were all steaming at full speed to join the hunt before dawn.
Sean Leet – the co-founder and Chair of Horizon Maritime Services, the firm supplying Horizon Arctic – said he was dedicated to concluding the search.
Sean said: “Our equipment is on scene and is helping with the investigation as directed by the US Coast Guard.
“In addition to the Polar Prince, we have mobilised the Horizon Arctic to add vessel support for this mission.
“The people on board the Titan and their families are our focus, we care deeply about their well-being.
“Our critical role remains in a support capacity.”
Officials said the ship would have arrived sooner, but had to return to Newfoundland to retrieve deep-sea diving equipment.
The L’Atalante carries the robot Victor 6000, which is capable of reaching depths of 20,000ft.
The robot can dive deeper than other equipment at the site.
Operated by a 25-strong crew, it has arms that can be operated to cut cables or perform other manoeuvres to release a stuck vessel.
While the vehicle could not lift Titan to the surface on its own, it could help to hook it to a ship.
A US Navy CURV21 undersea robot was also due to arrive and was seen as the best chance of saving the crew — if they are found alive.
It can salvage wreckage and craft up to 20,000ft down — and last year pulled off a world record recovery of a Seahawk helicopter at a depth of 19,075ft off Japan. Sonar teams hope they can detect the sub in the icy depths in time for the CURV21 to pull off a rescue.
The unprecedented feat would involve the tethered deep-sea robot attaching its cable to the Titan in pitch darkness near the ocean floor.
It would then need to pull the OceanGate Expedition company’s ten-ton craft aboard a US Navy ship at breakneck speed. Even if the sub reaches the surface in time, crews will still have to unbolt the Titan’s sealed titanium hull to free the five.
Former Royal Navy Rear Admiral Chris Parry said yesterday: “If anything can bring them up, it’s this kit.”