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Michael Guillen made the same dive in 2000 on a Mir submersible from Russia as in this archive photo
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- Author: Yaroslav Lukiv
- Roll, BBC News
1 hour ago
“I was the first correspondent to report on the sinking of the Titanic. So of course I was excited,” Guillen, who was then the science editor at ABC, told BBC Radio 4.
He was accompanied by his dive buddy Brian and Russian pilot Viktor they descended to the depths of the ocean in a small Russian submersible brought to the site by the research vessel Akademik Mstislav Keldysh.
After inspecting the Titanic’s bow, where “everything was going well,” the crew decided to head to the more distant stern area.
“As we approached the aft area we crossed what is known as a debris field we got … into a very fast underwater current. And ended up in the propeller,” Guillen describes the situation as “huge”.
“Out of nowhere it crashed. We just felt this collision and all of a sudden there was debris…huge chunks, rusty chunks of Titanic started falling on us.”
“I thought goodbye”
Guillen, physicist and now bestselling author, says: “We knew almost immediately that we weren’t getting anywhere.”
According to him, the pilot, who used to fly Russian MIG fighter jets, began maneuvering the submarine to escape the propeller.
“It’s like your car getting stuck in the mud: you’re trying to go forward, backward, forward, backward. Just to try to get out of there.”
“We were all silent. We didn’t want to disturb or distract Viktor. We knew we were in a crisis. So we just kept quiet.”
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The OceanGate submersible Titan disappeared last Sunday during an expedition to view the wreckage of the Titanic
“Thanks to Viktor’s skill,” the submarine finally managed to free itself from the propeller, says Guillen.
“We were lucky. It was almost an hour before we got stuck. And I had practically said goodbye in spirit.”
“I’ll never forget this thought that came to my mind: This is how it will end for you.”
“But in the end we felt like something had changed … we felt like we were floating.”
The journalist recalls that all this happened in complete darkness when the pilot turned off the submersible’s searchlight.
“We didn’t want to say anything. I was like, ‘Oh my god, is it possible we escaped?’”
“So I turned to Viktor and said, ‘Okay?’ Just that.”
“His English was bad. And I will never forget that.” [como] He replied, mumbling, “Good,” in a Russian accent.
“I was ready to face anyone who panicked”
Guillen says it took them about two and a half hours to get back to the surface and those on board the launch vehicle were aware it was an “emergency situation”.
According to him, in 2000 there were only two countries that had submarines capable of withstanding the enormous water pressure France and Russia.
The journalist compared the 7.8 meter long Russian submarine Mir with the submersible Titan, which disappeared in the Atlantic last Sunday (June 18) with five people on board.
“Our dive boat had nothing to do with this luxury dive boat. I’ve seen pictures of the inside of the Titan it looks like a mansion.”
The narrow compartment had “two bench seats on each side for me and my dive buddy, with the pilot in the middle”.
“I’m afraid of water. That was hard enough for me,” admits Guillen. But he says he just couldn’t resist reporting on the site of the Titanic’s sinking.
Before the dive, the crew was briefed on what to expect on the dive boat.
“They told a true story that happened when another man had a diving crisis,” says the American journalist.
“His first impulse was to go to the hatch. Because his first instinct when he’s trapped down there is: you get up to get to the hatch that’s way above… and think that’s the way to escape.”
“This guy panicked and of course it was a disaster because the moment he does it all it takes is a bang; the water pours in it’s under great pressure: it’s like a razor blade it cuts you in half.
“I was very scared that someone would do something like this to the submersible. So I immediately became alert,” he recalls, adding that he didn’t panic — but was “ready to take on anyone else on the sub who might panic.”
“It helped take my mind off the crisis we were in — it kind of gave me purpose, a reason not to think about anything else,” he says.
“And then as a scientist I soon began to take stock in my head: how long does our oxygen last, what could we do.”
“I was thinking about how we could get out of this situation and it got to the point where I really had to admit the simple fact that there was no way out,” he says, describing the conditions as “very hostile”. .
“That’s when this voice came to mind this is how it will end for you. And I felt an almost unnatural peace.”
When questioned about the disappearance of the Titan submersible, Guillen cannot contain his emotions.
“My heart is broken for these five poor souls down there,” he says through many tears.
“I know exactly what you’re dealing with. There are simply no words for it.”
“I know what they’re going through. I pray a lot,” he ended the interview full of emotion.