A doctor has explained what will happen to the crew aboard the missing Titanic submersible as oxygen runs out before they have been resuced.
Dr Kenneth Ledez, as doctor specialising in medicine in extreme conditions, says the group may have damage to their nervous systems or heart due to long-term exposure low oxygen.
The expert, a Hyperbaric Medicine Specialist at Memorial University in Newfoundland, Canada, believes the group will not be able to rescue themselves and may have to be "carried out."
It comes as the missing Titanic submarine has tragically not been found as the deadline for oxygen running out on the submersible has now passed without any breakthrough in the search, The Mirror reports.
Dr Ledez explained: "Well I mean, even if they are rescued. Let's say they are rescued after the oxygen levels drop too low., they are not going to be able to rescue themselves, they will have to be carried out.
"And depending on how long and how low the oxygen has been will determine, you know, what the long-term outcome is.
"Can people survive after exposure to those conditions? Yes they could have damage to the nervous system or heart and extended time.
"So really it's going to be a gradual deterioration."
He told the BBC that the search effort needs to continue in the hopes of getting them to the surface in time. The doctor said there are a special set of considerations due to the difficulty in controlling their interior environment.
"But if they're still alive, they are doing everything they possibly can do now. To survive," he told the broadcaster.
"They're smart and they know the steps that they got to make."
The race is on to find the submarine as quickly as possible, with a fleet of vessels gathering at the search site in the hopes of finding them before their oxygen ran out at 12.08pm.
But David Gallo, who has been involved in countless deep sea missions himself, says that an act of God will be needed to save the Titan, but that he is still optimistic.
Speaking to Good Morning Britain, he said the noises were "credible and repeatable", meaning it's likely the group are somehow making those sounds.
He added that the operation needs to assume that they are being created by the men on board, pinpoint it and drag them to the surface.
"We have to, at this point, assume that that's the submarine and move quickly to that spot, locate it and get robots down there to verify that is where the submarine is," he said.
"They've got to go fully ready as if that was the sub because to locate it and get it up to the surface - it takes hours."
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