Company Behind Missing Titanic Sub Received Multiple Safety Warnings

The company in charge of the submersible mission to the Titanic that disappeared this weekend received several prior warnings that its approach may be too risky, including lawsuits from former employees and warning letters from fellow industry professionals.

OceanGate Expeditions, a submersibles touring company founded in 2009 by pilot and aerospace engineer Stockton Rush, set off on its mission to the 12,500-feet-below-sea-level wreckage on Sunday morning with five passengers aboard. The vessel lost contact with the surface ship supporting it that evening and has not been heard from since. The Coast Guard and Canadian authorities have launched a rescue mission to save the passengers, whose 96 hours of additional oxygen are quickly running out.

“We are exploring and mobilizing all options to bring the crew back safely,” OceanGate said in a statement Monday. “Our entire focus is on the crew members in the submersible and their families.”

Read more at The Daily Beast.