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Missing Titanic sub's passengers likely in ‘intense emotional turmoil’ as reality seeps in, says expert

The OceanGate-owned Titan submersible vanished on June 19 when it was taking a crew of five people to view the wreck of the Titanic

LONDON, ENGLAND: A forensic psychiatrist described the situation of the passengers trapped inside the missing Titanic submarine, saying they could be in "intense emotional turmoil." An extensive search has been launched to locate the OceanGate-owned Titan submersible that vanished on June 19, when it was taking a crew of five people to view the wreck of the Titanic, which lies 12,500ft beneath the surface of the Atlantic Ocean.

As the search continues, British forensic psychiatrist Sohom Das claims that the people on board Titan are probably clinging to the hope that they could still be rescued but as the clock goes on, "Reality is going to seep in." The titanium-made submersible is believed to have one crew member and four other passengers on board, including British billionaire Hamish Harding, French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, Pakistan millionaire Shahzada Dawood, and his son Suleman. The Titan was launched around 4 am on Sunday, June 18, but lost communication with the sub's mothership MV Polar Prince an hour and 45 minutes into the two-hour descent.

'They're going to suffer from physical symptoms'

"I think they must be in just intense emotional turmoil," Dr Das told DailyMail. "On the one hand, part of them is still going to be clinging on to hope. There's going to be a part of them that believes that they will be found and they will be rescued. But I think as time passes, reality is going to seep in," he added. The NHS doctor predicted that as time goes on, the trapped passengers will experience an array of reactions to their situation, and their "reactions, their emotions might change over time." "So at some point, they're going to be quite reflective upon their lives when they're literally staring into the jaws of death, and at other points, they're likely to feel extremely panicked, extremely anxious," he continued.

According to the US Coast Guard's estimation, oxygen in the submersible would likely run out no later than 10 am on Thursday, June 22. "They're going to suffer from physical symptoms," Dr Das said, adding these could range "from hyperventilation to feeling dizzy to chest pains. They're just going to be overwhelmed emotionally with trying to get to grips with what's happening to them. I imagine that none of them have a claustrophobic disorder. Otherwise, they wouldn't be in that situation in the first place." He continued by noting that the claustrophobic circumstances will further heighten their feelings of anxiety. "I'm sure the intense, claustrophobic nature of the scenario that they're in as they come to grips with the possibility of losing their lives will just add to the overall tension and the feelings of anxiety that they have," he added.

‘This is an incredibly complex site’

An inkling of hope came on Tuesday when sounds were heard from the depths of the ocean, suggesting that the Titan crew members are trying to send signals to the rescuers. "The sonobuoys detected noise in the water. We don't know the source of that noise," US Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger told CBS. He also noted that two ROVs and a surface vessel are being deployed in a desperate bid to locate the vessel. "This is an incredibly complex site," Mauger said, noting that "metal and other objects under the water made it difficult to determine the source."