THE WRECKAGE of the Titanic has been the subject of various documentaries, movies, and conspiracy theories, and was even turned into a tourist attraction.
The doomed ship sank after hitting an iceberg on its voyage to New York - and in June 2023, a submarine visiting the wreckage of the RMS Titanic in the North Atlantic Ocean vanished.
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How deep is the Titanic?
The Titanic has been sitting 3,800 meters below the surface of the North Atlantic Ocean since it sank in 1912.
This equates to a depth of around 12500 feet.
It has been reported that the wreckage could disappear completely by 2030, all because of "hungry" bacteria in the ocean.
The wreck initially stayed well preserved because of how deep in the ocean it is, but scientists don't think the remains of the ship have much time left.
In 2010, proteobacteria were found on rusticles that had been recovered from the wreckage and recent estimates predict that by the year 2030, the ship may be completely eroded.
When was the Titanic found?
American oceanographer and marine geologist Robert Ballard and French oceanographer and engineer Jean-Louis Michel discovered the wreck of the Titanic in 1985.
The ship was found lying in two main pieces about 2,000 feet apart.
In 2012, the Titanic wreckage was named a UNESCO World Heritage site.
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Where is the Titanic wreck now?
The remains of the Titanic are on the ocean floor about 350 nautical miles off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.
On June 18, 2023, 11 decades after the sinking of the Titanic, a research submersible visiting the wreckage went missing.
The US Coast Guard sent out a search for survivors after the vessel vanished with five people on board.
The submersible was sent out by OceanGate Expeditions - a private company that charters trips to explore the Titanic wreckage.
The vessel reportedly had a four-day supply of oxygen, as per BBC.
It set out to explore the iconic Titanic wreckage, located 900 nautical miles east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts but never returned.
Experts revealed how they feared the submarine could be tangled in the debris of the iconic ship.
The five people on board were named as French submersible pilot Paul-Henry Nargeolet, chief executive and founder of OceanGate Expeditions, Stockton Rush, Pakistani millionaire Shahzada Dawood and his son Sulaiman, and UK businessman Hamish Harding.
OceanGate Expeditions said in a statement: "Our entire focus is on the crew members in the submersible and their families.
"We are deeply thankful for the extensive assistance we have received from several government agencies and deep sea companies in our efforts to reestablish contact with the submersible."
The missing vessel weighs over 10,000kg and is powered by electric thrusters, generating a stop speed of three knots.
It was designed by a team of Nasa engineers but is reportedly steered by a reinforced PlayStation controller.
There is no GPS system, with the crew instead relying on texts from a team above the water.
The sub named Titan sends texts to communicate with their team on the transport vessel the Polar Prince, which remains above water.
Titan is understood to have lost contact with the Polar Prince just one hour and 45 minutes into the expedition on June 18, 2023.
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On June 22, 2023, the US Coast Guard recovered a debris field nearby the Titanic.
The debris is said to be from "the external body of the sub," according to CNN, as it is believed that the five passengers are dead.
