Some U.S. government officials appear to have ignored his calls, an adviser involved in the search for a submarine that went missing while touring the Titanic told NewsNation on Monday.

A search and rescue team raced against time Sunday to find the submarine where five people went missing while tourists from the Ocean Gate Expedition dived into the Titanic. The ship disappeared about an hour and 45 minutes after diving to the seafloor with explorer Hamish Harding, two members of Pakistan’s iconic businessmen, a pilot and Titanic experts on board, according to the Associated Press. cut off. report.

Oceangate adviser David Concannon told NewsNation host Ashley Banfield that he was supposed to be part of the crew, but was forced to stay ashore due to an emergency. according to In a video shared Monday night. When asked about the overall recovery effort, Mr. Concannon said he works mostly with private companies because many calls to the U.S. government have been answered in absentia.

“this [potential rescue] The equipment sat on the tarmac for hours. And when I communicate with the U.S. government, I get out-of-office replies not from everyone, but from the key people who agreed to this. that is unacceptable. Absolutely unacceptable,” Concannon said in an interview. (Related: Five people, including famous explorer, missing as authorities scramble to find missing Titanic submarine)

“These assets could be released tomorrow. I want to see the answer “Yes, how can I help you?” And we are trying as hard as we can. And I sent the producers pictures of these assets ready for shipment under the night lights of Guernsey, but they were taken a few hours ago,” he continued.

Mr. Banfield appeared shocked that paperwork seemed to be the only thing preventing a full rescue operation from unfolding. As of Monday, passengers have a 96-hour oxygen quota.

This will be Ocean Gate’s third annual voyage to see the wreckage of the Titanic about 3.8 kilometers below sea level, according to the Associated Press. I got it in another article.

You can watch his full interview here: