A former US Navy psychologist has shared the likely scenario for the passengers on board the missing Titanic submersible.
Search authorities involved in the rescue mission for the missing vessel estimated late on Tuesday evening (June 20) that passengers have less than 40 hours of oxygen left.
OceanGate's Titan submersible has been the subject of a 'complex' search process after the small vessel went missing under the sea on Sunday (18 June).
On board are five passengers: British billionaire Hamish Harding; French maritime expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet; Shahzada Dawood and his son Sulaiman; and OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush.
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The US coast guard recently confirmed that a Canadian P-3 aircraft detected 'underwater noises in the search area' and two search crews have picked up 'banging noises' not far from where the submersible went missing.
While the relatives of the passengers on board wait for updates, Dr. Justin D'Arienzo has explained what the situation may be like on board who are trapped underwater.
"There is sheer panic where their heart is racing and they’re having trouble breathing or feeling like they cannot catch a breath and/or they feel like they are going to lose their mind," he told Fox News.
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"And certainly in a cramped space that is dark like this situation that can be exponentially worse.”
A'rienzo, who served as a U.S. Navy psychologist from 2003 to 2008, said he's done a lot of evaluations for submariners.
“I think they are moving in and out of phases of panic to gallows humour to fear to feeling really bonded with the other passengers that are with them.
He predicted that the crew are probably experiencing 'mood swings' and it's up to the captain to keep everyone calm, which is extremely important in a situation like this.
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D'Arienzo continued: "So there’s just lots of probably lots of significant mood swings but hopefully I would imagine that the submarine captain thats there that’s guiding them has a lot of experience doing this type of work and is trying to keep the crew calm and in the moment and light and really focusing on hope and trusting that the coast guard and other professionals will find them.
"I think it’s really important that they maintain hope and they stay calm in the situation.”
He adds: “Psychologically, what is the killer for people in terms of maintaining calmness is dealing with uncertainty whether it’s the people in the submarine or the families at home right and that’s why it’s really important to be able to surrender to that lack of uncertainty and just focus on what you have control of.
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“And what those people have control of on that submarine is remaining calm and getting to know each other and trying but also trying not to talk too much so they’re not using up any oxygen and also not being excited or scared because again that is using up even more oxygen.”