There is still hope that Titanic tourists can be found alive

21 June 2023, 14:02 | Updated: 21 June 2023, 14:14

Millions of people have been gripped by the legacy of the Titanic since it began its doomed maiden journey more than 100 years ago.

Thrillseekers and historians alike want to catch a glimpse of the world's most famous ship since it was uncovered by accident more than 30 years ago.

That desire to see history could cost the five tourists on board Titan sub their lives.

We can only hope and pray that the mysterious banging noises rescuers picked up deep in the Atlantic is the stricken sub.

And we can only hope that the huge international rescue effort that has swept into action since the sub vanished can locate them and rescue them.

All in the space of less than 24 hours. Let's face it the logistics are simply mindblowing.

But we have seen an array of winches, cables and unmanned vehicles capable of going 19,000 feet underwater delivered to St John's airport in Newfoundland by three US Air Force cargo planes ready to head off for the Titanic wreck site.

But even If the missing submarine is located thousands of feet below sea level, the rescuers face a series of barriers and an incredibly complex mission to retrieve the vessel.

It is unlike any rescue effort ever performed.

This means the only real chance that they could be saved is for a sophisticated remotely operated vehicle, or ROV, to travel 12,500ft underwater and hook a cable onto the Titanic submersible before reeling it up to the surface where the craft's hatch could be drilled open.

But this is an incredibly time-consuming task which is dependent on the rescuers finding the exact spot where the small vessel is located.

Even then the operation could take a day. This is time that those onboard do not have as the air inside the cramped craft runs out.

But as we saw with the boys trapped in a Thai cave and the Chilean miners miracles can happen.

We can only hope and pray.