Hours of air left, friends of Titanic submarine crew hope for happy ending

LOS ANGELES - Fred Hagan is worried and praying for a positive outcome to the search for the Titan submersible, which went missing with five passengers as the group set out to explore the wreckage of the Titanic over the weekend. 

Several of those aboard, Hagan said, are his friends. Speaking on FOX and Friends Hagan said, "As long as there is the chance of them surviving and coming back to us alive we have to focus only on rescue."

Hagan said he was on the Titan submersible in July 2022. He said there were safety protocols, but, "it was not safe and we understood that. For those of us who know the people on board, this is heart-rending... it’s tragic, and you want desperately for a miracle, and you grasp at every straw."

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As rescue crews work tirelessly to bring all assets and expertise to bear as quickly as possible this remains a race against time. As of Tuesday evening, experts estimate the submersible only has about 15 hours of breathable oxygen left. Every underwater banging noise brings with it hope...... but there is anguish.

Hagan said there were safety protocols in place, but he knew there were safety concerns. Others had them too. OceanGate, the Washington state-based company that operates Titan, once faced a lawsuit with its former Director of Marine Operations over safety concerns. Outside experts also raised issues in 2018.

Collin Taylor was on the vessel last year with his son. He remembered its tight space. He described it as "close quarters. It will get cold, especially with the titanium domes that will pick up the ambient temperature of the water, which will be very near freezing. So it will get cold in there. But it’s a confined space, and I can’t imagine what’s on their minds right now."

The search continues.