Former Titanic sub passenger dubs dive a ‘suicide mission’

Amid frantic international efforts to locate the lost Titanic-exploring submersible, experts point out that this isn’t the first time the deep-diving vessel has raised flags.

A German adventurer who explored the Titanic wreckage on the same submersible that disappeared has labeled the voyage a “suicide mission.”

“I was incredibly lucky back then,” Arthur Loibl, 60, told German outlet Bild of his hair-raising aquatic adventure.

He undertook the perilous underwater odyssey in August 2021, diving down over 12,000 meters to the famous wreck in the now infamous Titan submersible.

Also along for the descent, which cost Loibl nearly $110,000, were French Titanic expert Paul-Henry Nargeolet, 73 and OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, 61, CEO and founder of the submarine company OceanGate.

They and three other passengers are currently trapped aboard the missing vessel, which is possibly located as deep as 12,500 feet down off the coast of Canada.

“It was a suicide mission back then!” exclaimed the Bavarian entrepreneur, recalling his own journey into the abyss. “The first submarine didn’t work, then a dive at 1,600 meters had to be abandoned.”

Loibl explained that they ended up launching five hours late due to electrical issues — which he suspects is to blame for the Titan crews’ current predicament.

Not only that but right before the voyage, the bracket of the stabilization tube — which balances the sub — tore and had to be “reattached with zip ties,” he said.

Unfortunately, the cramped conditions on board the Titan weren’t exactly reassuring.

“You need strong nerves, you mustn’t be claustrophobic and you have to be able to sit cross-legged for ten hours,” described the aquanaut, who has circumvented Titanic’s remains twice in Titan.

During one of the dives, he even touched down aboard the ill-fated cruise liner.

However, out of all the daredevil’s adventures — flying over Russia in a MiG-29 fighter plane and visiting both the North and South Poles — Loibl says the Titan expeditions were “the most extreme.”

As such, he is praying for the safe return of all parties aboard the sunken sub. “It must be hell down there. There’s only 2.50 meters of space, it’s four degrees, there’s no chair, no toilet,” Loibl described.

The sub —  which is carrying British billionaire Hamish Harding and Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son along with the aforementioned two passengers — has been missing since Sunday and has fewer than 41 hours of breathable oxygen left, the US Coast Guard reported Tuesday.

Canadian airplane aiding in the search for Titan recently detected “banging” every 30 minutes in the area where the vessel lost radio contact with its surface ship.

However, it’s yet unclear when the potential signs of life, which were confirmed by the US Coast Guard and US Department Of Homeland Security, were detected.

In light of the development, a remotely-operated underwater vehicle was dispatched to the vicinity where the sounds were heard, but so far the searches have come up empty, the Coast Guard said.