The wife of the pilot on the missing Titan submersible holding five passengers who failed to make it to the Titanic wreckage has a tragic connection with the historic ship.
Wendy Rush, the wife of OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, is the great-great-granddaughter of the late co-owner of Macyās department store, Isidor Straus, and his wife, Ida Straus, who died on the ship after it sunk in 1912, according to The New York Times.
They were the two wealthiest people aboard the vessel on its maiden voyage.
The German natives are also known for their love story, which was depicted in the 1997 film āTitanic.ā
According to National Archives, Ida Straus refused to leave the ship in a lifeboat without her husband.
āWhere you go, I go,ā she reportedly said.
The couple was last seen holding hands on the deck before a wave carried them into the sea. Isidor Strausā body was later recovered.
On June 22, NBC News reported U.S. Coast Guard officials estimated the five passengers could lose air before 7:10 a.m. ET. The location of the submersible is still undetermined as searchers race against the clock to find the vessel.
The Department of Homeland Securityās National Operations Center shared updates on the search rescue via an internal email obtained by Rolling Stone. It revealed searchers looking for the Canadian aircraft heard ābangingā in 30-minute intervals coming from the area where the submarine disappeared.
In a previous statement obtained by theĀ BBC, OceanGate Expeditions,Ā the company that hosted the āTitanic Expeditionā expressed its urgency in finding the five missing passengers.
āOur entire focus is on the crewmembers in the submersible and their families. We are deeply grateful for the urgent and extensive assistance we are receiving from multiple government agencies and deep-sea companies as we seek to reestablish contact with the submersible,ā the company stated.
They concluded, āWe pray for the safe return of the crew and passengers.ā