Man who went on Titanic sub recalls terrifying voyage: 'Suicide mission'

Arthur Loibl explained that he and his fellow travellers ended up launching the mission five hours late because of electrical issues. (Photo credit (right): instagram.com/king_arturo_1962).

A German adventurer, who had undertaken a mission to find the Titanic wreckage in the same submersible in August 2021 as those who took the mission recently, called it a "suicide mission" and revealed the trouble taken by him and others on the mission.

"I was incredibly lucky back then,", the man, identified as 60-year-old Arthur Loibl told Bild.

"The first submarine didn’t work, then a dive at 1,600 meters had to be abandoned. It was a suicide mission back then," he added.

Accompanying Loibl for the descent- for which he had spent Rs 89 lakh- were 73-year-old French Titanic expert Paul-Henry Nargeolet and 61-year-old Stockton Rush, founder of the submarine company OceanGate.

Citing the requirements for taking up the mission, Loibl said that one needs to have the ability to sit crossed legs for 10 hours, have strong nerves and not feel claustrophobic.

"You need strong nerves, you mustn’t be claustrophobic and you have to be able to sit cross-legged for ten hours," he said.

The man explained that he and his fellow travellers ended up launching the mission five hours late because of electrical issues, which he suspected was also the reason behind the current crews' predicament.

Loibl added that prior to the voyage, the bracket of the stabilisation tube tore and needed to be "reattached with zip ties,". Unfortunately, the difficult condition onboard the ship were not completely reassuring.

Loibl prayed for the safe return of the passengers and added that it must feel like hell at the location where the current group are stuck.

"It must be hell down there. There’s only 2.50 meters of space, it’s four degrees, there’s no chair, no toilet," Loibl said.

Also read: Banging sounds heard in search for missing Titanic submarine are 'cause for hope'