Featured Image Credit: Enn Li Photography/Getty Images / Instagram/@gsohnlein
Topics: US News, World News, News, Travel, Environment
Rhiannon Ingle
Topics: US News, World News, News, Travel, Environment
The man behind the doomed Titan submarine trip has now announced a brand-new journey to a sinkhole dubbed the 'Portal of Hell'.
A massive operation was launched in June last year after the missing Titan submersible vanished about 435 miles (700km) south of Newfoundland, Canada.
The craft, operated by OceanGate Expeditions, carried five people on board including the company's CEO Stockton Rush anda pilot, as well as three paying customers.
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Titan lost contact with its surface crew on 18 June, 2023, as it explored the underwater gravesite of the Titanic wreckage which lies around 12,500ft deep.
The US Coast Guard later announced the 'catastrophic implosion' of the Titan vessel some days later (22 June), after debris was discovered near the wreck of the Titanic off the coast of Newfoundland.
The implosion ended up killing all five passengers on board.
Now, over a year on, the former CEO and a co-founder of OceanGate is set to go to The Bahamas to discover one of the world’s deepest ocean sinkholes with his new company.
Guillermo Söhnlein and two others, scientist Kenny Broad and chief medical officer and former NASA astronaut Scott Parazynski, will be heading to Dean's Blue Hole with Blue Marble Exploration to explore what the deep-sea company calls a 'virtually unexplored' sinkhole standing at a staggering 663ft deep.
"To date, Dean’s Blue Hole has been virtually unexplored," Blue Marble Exploration says on its website. "Venturing into uncharted waters, our team will have to 'expect the unexpected'."
Speaking about the sinkhole, which is the third deepest in the world, the company continues: "Locals believe that Dean's is a portal to hell and the Devil himself lurks in the black depths. Each year, several people drown in Dean's due to a variety of misfortunes.
"We fully expect to find human remains and prepare to handle those situations with proper respect for the families."
Explaining the aims behind the trip, called the Sapphire Abyss expedition, Blue Marble Exploration adds: "Dean’s Blue Hole is a unique natural wonder that offers a window into the unknown.
"Its ecological diversity, significant geological formations, and largely uncharted depths (663 ft/202 m) make it an ideal location for scientific discovery and technological advancement.
"By exploring this mysterious blue hole, we aim to unlock new knowledge about marine ecosystems, Earth’s ancient climate, and potentially reveal undiscovered species.
"This expedition offers a rare opportunity for investors to support pioneering research that could yield transformative insights and global environmental benefits."