Titanic submersible with crew of 5 on board expedition missing off Newfoundland coast

NEWFOUNDLAND (NBC / KYMA, KECY-TV) - A deep sea craft owned and operated by OceanGate Expeditions, carrying 5 people, went missing this morning off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, roughly an hour and 45 minutes into the dive. U.S. Coast Guard officials said "A search and rescue mission is under way in the North Atlantic." Tonight the company that runs the deep sea charters, OceanGate Expeditions, saying in a statement, "our entire focus is on the crew members and their families."

The tourist submarine holds up to five people and takes tourists down to the Titanic wreckage site, more thank two and a half miles below the ocean's surface. A trip that costs $250,000 per person and takes you on an eight hour dive, descending and ascending from the gravesite of the famous ship wreckage. It's believed the vessel may have become stuck in wreckage of the Titanic.

The Titanic sank on the fateful night of April 15th, 1912 after hitting an iceberg on its maiden voyage from Liverpool, England in route to New York City. The luxury liner held held 2,240 passengers including crew. More than 1,500 people died in one of the worst ocean disasters of the twentieth century.