PEACHTREE CORNERS, Ga. — The search for a missing submersible that had been bound for the wreckage of the Titanic approached a critical oxygen threshold on Wednesday and into Thursday morning.
One metro Atlanta-based company is hoping for a miracle for an executive who's one of the five people aboard.
RMS Titanic, Inc. is headquartered in Peachtree Corners, and specializes in research of the wreck site and recovery and preservation of its artifacts. The French explorer Paul-Henry Nargeolet, one of five people on the Titan submersible that went missing Sunday, is the company's director of underwater research.
RMS is a subsidiary of Premier Exhibitions, Inc., based in Atlanta, which organizes historical exhibitions on popular subjects such as the Titanic or King Tut.
The company's president, Jessica Sanders, issued a statement this week saying Nargeolet is "more than a colleague, he is a friend."
"We are devastated with the news, but remain steadfast in our hope for a safe rescue for all," the statement said. "(Nargeolet) is more than a colleague, he is a friend. No one has more experience at the wreck site than (Nargeolet), and no one has a better chance of navigating through equipment failures than he does. We remain hopeful."
PAUL-HENRY NARGEOLET
Nargeolet is a former French navy officer who is considered a Titanic expert after making multiple trips to the wreckage over several decades.
David Gallo, a senior adviser for strategic initiatives and special projects at RMS Titanic, said in an interview with CNN that Nargeolet was on board.
He is director of underwater research for E/M Group and RMS Titanic Inc., has completed 37 dives to the wreck and supervised the recovery of 5,000 artifacts, according to his company profile.
He was expedition leader on the most technologically advanced dive to Titanic in 2010, which used high-resolution sonar and 3D optical imaging on the bow and stern sections as well as the debris field.
While with the French Institute for Research and Exploitation of Sea, he led the first recovery expedition to the Titanic in 1987.