A Forensic Psychiatrist's Description of the 'Intense Emotional Turmoil' the Crew of the Titanic Sub are Experiencing Will Haunt Your Dreams

To give you some perspective on how far below the surface the missing Titan submarine actually is, note that this video goes from sea level to the bottom of the Mariana Trench - the lowest point on Earth at 11,000 meters - in just under 5 minutes. And to reach the depth of the Titanic, which is 3,700 meters, takes a full 3 1/2 minutes. And while the very thought of being trapped in a metal cylinder with four other people as your oxygen - along your chance of survival - run desperately low are too horrible to contemplate for everyone but Hamish Harding's stepson:

Advertisement

... that's what we have professionals for. 

Since we can't turn to that population of humans who have be rescued from the seabed 2 1/2 miles below the waves, since no one ever has, all we can do is turn to the closest thing we have to an expert. The forensic psychologists. So gird your loins. This is not going to be for the squeamish or the claustrophobic. But unfortunately for five men, it's their reality right now:

Source - The passengers trapped on the missing Titan submersible in the depths of the Atlantic ocean are likely in 'intense emotional turmoil' as they enter their final 24 hours of oxygen supply, a forensic psychiatrist has told MailOnline. …

'On the one hand, part of them is still going to be clinging on to hope. There's going to be a part of them that believes that they will be found and they will be rescued.

'But I think as time passes, reality is going to seep in,' he said.

As time passes, the NHS doctors said the trapped passengers will have lots of different reactions to their situation, and that their 'reactions, their emotions might change over time.

'So at some point they're going to be quite reflective upon their lives when they're literally staring into the jaws of death and at other points, they're likely to feel extremely panicked, extremely anxious,' he said. …

'They're going to suffer from physical symptoms,' Dr Das said, 'from hyperventilation to feeling dizzy to chest pains. They're just going to be overwhelmed emotionally with trying to get to grips with what's happening to them. …

'I'm sure the intense, claustrophobic nature of the scenario that they're in as they come to grips with the possibility of losing their lives will just add to the overall tension and the feelings of anxiety that they have,' he added.

Were these men in any other situation, I'd use the word unfathomable. But under the circumstances, we'll just have to settle for saying the fear and horror they're facing is unimaginable. Where their best hope feels like a billion-to-one shot of rescue, and their second best feels like a quick and peaceful death. With no third option. 

The closest I can come to a fictional depiction of what Dr. Das is describing is the greatest movie ever made about the experience of submariners, Das Boot. Cued up to the 3:00 mark, where the German U-Boat loses power at the bottom of the Sea of Gibraltar:

And even they were able to move about, try to fix their situation, and do something. Besides just sit and wait for the inevitable. Which has to be among the most horrible ways to go. 

As far as a real life account, there were three sailors on the USS West Virginia after the attack on Pearl Harbor who were trapped below the water line and held out for a horrifying length of time before they succumbed:

Advertisement

Interim Archives. Getty Images.

Snopes - In the chaotic aftermath of the surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, [20 year old Fireman First Class Clifford] Olds and two other men would find themselves entombed alive in the hull of the naval vessel settled in the muddy seafloor of the harbor 40 feet below the surface. It would take them 16 days to die. …

At the time of the Dec. 7 attack, the ship was positioned outboard, or to the outside of, the USS Tennessee as part of a seven-ship lineup on “Battleship Row," when it was hit by two bombs from overhead and by at least six torpedoes (some accounts say seven) underwater, ultimately killing 106 of its crew members, notes the National Park Service.

Following impact, officers aboard the Wee-Vee called what is known as a “set condition Zed” — a naval technique that requires closing of all hatch compartments and counter-flooding a portion of the ship so that she won’t capsize but will sink upright. The decision allowed hundreds to escape but sealed the fate the three live men trapped in the hull.

For 30 hours, the ship burned slowly as it sank and the morning following the attack, crew members and naval personnel reported hearing a tapping sound originating from the forward hull of the vessel. …

Sailors recount the following days when men dreaded guard duty that put them within earshot of the sunken battleship and the “desperate — almost tireless — cry for help.” For more than two weeks the banging continued, but crews were unable to get to those making the sound. Drilling a hole in the boat might have caused a “blowout” from the pressure of the seafloor, while oil spilled along the surface of the ocean could have easily sparked an explosion.

It wasn’t until months later, when crews were able to pump out water to partially float and dry-dock the boat that the bodies of the three men were found in storeroom A-111, alongside flashlight batteries, manhole access to a supply of fresh water, and eaten emergency rations.

A now-lost calendar had red X's marking the days between Dec. 7 and Dec. 23.

Olds was reportedly entombed alongside 18-year-old Ronald Endicott and Louis “Buddy” Costin, 21.

Jesus wept, that is horrible. Try to imagine 16 days of hoping for rescue. And that was in 40 feet of water, not 12,000. Now consider what these guys on board the Titan are going through. Or are already done going through, and it's mercifully over now. We may never know. Perhaps they'll still make it, though that chance seems slimmer by the minute. All we can do is acknowledge that the Grim Reaper is still undefeated. And when you have to shuffle off this mortal coil, maybe there's some solace in knowing that, like these men, you did it on some grand adventure and not lying in some hospital bed. Let's hope for their sake. Because what this forensic psychiatrist describes is something no one should experience.