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UK billionaire Harding aboard missing OceanGate Expeditions submersible — report

Search and rescue mission is underway

LONDON, June 19. /TASS/. UK billionaire Hamish Harding, owner of Action Aviation is aboard the OceanGate Expeditions bathyscaphe that went missing during a submersion to the Titanic wreckage, Sky News reported Monday, citing Harding’s stepson Brian Szasz.

"Thoughts and prayers for my stepfather Hamish Harding as his submarine has gone missing exploring Titanic. Search and rescue mission is underway," Szasz said on social media, according to Sky News.

Earlier, Action Aviation announced that the businessman was underwater on his expedition to the Titanic.

Earlier on Monday, OceanGate Expeditions confirmed that a submersible that delivers tourists to the Titanic wreckage went missing; the company did not specify how many people were aboard the submersible or when or under what circumstances the communication was lost.

According to Sky News, the bathyscaphe is supposed to send a signal to personnel ashore every 15 minutes, indicating all systems operate normally. No such signal was received in the past seven hours, the report says.

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