The missing Titanic submarine, which was carrying five passengers to the wreck of the Titanic, has captured the world’s attention.
Details emerged about each passenger on board, their reasons for going and their fears of the submarine. The outpouring of sympathy and support on social media has cheered the men, who each spent $250,000 to explore the giant shipwreck.
But many on social media are calling out the disproportionate response to the submarine Titan compared to the recent tragedy off the coast of Greece, where a boat carrying between 400 and 750 migrants capsized. Only 104 people were rescued, 82 were found dead and the rest are missing.
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Two different responses
The US Coast Guard deployed a search unlike most others to find the missing Titan submarine.
Five ships have been searching the ocean surface, and five more are expected to join, Capt. Jamie Frederick, Coast Guard First Response Coordinator, said Wednesday. Several private vessels are also at the site, including a research vessel from the Bahamas.
By air, three C-130s and three C-17 transport planes from the US Army, as well as Canadian military aircraft with sound sensing equipment, patrol the sea.
The search will likely cost taxpayers millions of dollars, Chris Boyer, executive director of the National Search and Rescue Association, told USA TODAY’s Chris Kenning.
Dig deeper: For the Coast Guard, hunting for a tourist submarine near the Titanic is a rescue unlike most others
By comparison, a Greek coast guard vessel tracked the ship carrying migrants for hours before it capsized and watched it sink in minutes.
Greece is facing an international backlash over their response. Authorities claim that the people on the boat insisted they did not want to be rescued and had to make it to Italy. said Alarm Phone, a network of activists that runs a hotline for migrant boats in distress AP The people on the ship were in dire need of help.
Moreover, as NBC Reportedly, under international maritime law, the authorities are not only obligated to conduct immediate rescues, but are also required to do so without any express request for assistance.
Backlash on social media
Some people on social media sites like Twitter and TikTok are calling out the disproportionate response in media coverage, government actions, and sympathy expressed online.
different passengers
Many attribute the difference in responses to the difference in people on both ships.
Among the victims and survivors of the boat that capsized in Greece were migrants from Egypt, Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Palestine. It is estimated that between 50 and 100 children were on board BBC.
The five members of the Titan submarine are British billionaire Hamish Harding, members of Pakistan’s most prominent families Shahzada Daoud, Suleiman Daoud, Paul Henry Nargolet, director of the company that holds exclusive rights to recover artifacts from the Titanic wreck, and OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush.
The number of survivors on both ships is still undetermined.
Contributing: Chris Kenning and Kate Perez, USA Today; Associated Press
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