A top doctor has spoken out and opened up about the agony that the crew of Titan must be going through while trapped 12,000 feet under the surface.
As the search for OceanGate’s submersible continues, the doomed expedition’s five crew members have just less than 24 hours’ worth of oxygen reserves left and rescue teams are racing against time to locate the sub and rescue those on board.
Forensic psychiatrist Sohom Das now spoke out and revealed the crew must be going through extreme emotional turmoil while going back and forth from thinking they’ll be rescued to thinking there’s not enough time left.
“I think they must be in just intense emotional turmoil,” the doctor 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.”
Dr. Das went on to say that given the extreme, hopeless situation the crew is currently in, their emotions will continue to change and possibly go from optimistic and hopeful to anxious, fearful, and panicked.
“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 added.
Unfortunately, health problems for the Titan crew don’t end there, as physical symptoms of being trapped in a tiny cabin 12,000 feet underwater will start to kick in as more time passes.
“They’re going to suffer from physical symptoms, 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,” Das explained.
“I imagine that none of them have a claustrophobic disorder. Otherwise they wouldn’t be in that situation in the first place.
But nevertheless, 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.
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Our thoughts remain with the crew as the search for Titan continues.