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Missing Titanic Sub: France sends Victor 6000, diving robot to aid search
A French robot named Victor 6000 is en route to assist in the search for a missing tourist submersible that disappeared while descending to the Titanic wreck.
A French robot named Victor 6000 is currently in the deep-sea to assist in the search for a missing tourist submersible that disappeared while descending from the Titanic wreck. The robot, capable of diving to 20,000 feet (6,000 meters), has advanced features such as remotely controlled arms that can cut cables and perform maneuvers to free a trapped vessel. While it cannot lift the submersible on its own, Victor 6000 may help connect the 10-tonne submersible, called Titan, to a ship capable of raising it to the surface.
The robot is expected to arrive just before the submersible’s air supply is estimated to run out. Ifremer, the French ocean research institute operating the robot, was also involved in locating the Titanic wreck in 1985. The missing submersible, which carried five individuals, including the French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, previously worked at Ifremer and piloted their flagship Nautile submarine for examining the Titanic wreck. The U.S. Navy requested Ifremer’s assistance, and the robot was deployed aboard the French research vessel Atalante.
Additionally, the robot’s crew of 25 is capable of continuous work for up to 72 hours. There have been reports of sounds detected in the area where the submersible went missing, providing hope that it may be on the seabed with survivors. Despite the slim chance, the team remains determined to exhaust all efforts in the search and rescue operation.