Four days ago, UK businessman Chris Brown thanked his lucky stars for his last-minute decision to cancel his trip to the Titanic wreck.
According to multiple media accounts, Mr Brown, a digital marketing businessman, signed up for the 80,000-pound deep dive with this pal and British billionaire Hamish Harding “over a few beers” while visiting business magnate Sir Richard Branson’s Necker island.
The Titan submarine has been gone for more than four days and may soon exhaust its oxygen tanks. The United States Coast Guard, Canadian military planes, French boats, and teleguided robots are racing against the clock to locate it.
British billionaire Hamish Harding, Pakistani tycoon Shahzada Dawood, and his son are among the five individuals aboard the missing sailboat.
Mr Brown revealed why he consented in the first place while describing his significant decision.
“Being a modern-day adventurer interested in pushing the boundaries of our knowledge of places that people go to… the Titanic is obviously an iconic wreck,” he said, according to a report in The Independent. “It’s a chance for an expedition, an exploration and adding a bit of science into the situation.”
Agreeing to take the trip, the businessman had promptly paid the deposit too. However, his excitement was clouded by concerns when he saw Oceangate, which was facilitating the trip, “cut too many corners”, reported the Sun.
According to the report, Mr Brown was shocked to find “old scaffolding poles” used for the submersible’s ballast. “It’s controls were based on computer game-style controllers,” he said.
“Eventually I emailed them and said, ‘I’m no longer able to go on this thing,” Brown told the Sun. “I asked for a refund after being less than convinced.”
Brown said that even though he is not one to shy away from risk, “the risks were too high in this instance”.
The businessman is now eagerly waiting for any news of the missing submarine, in which his friend is. “I feel really upset about Hamish,” he said, “The focus right now has to be on trying to rescue these people.”
