As the search for a missing submersible with five people aboard continued about 700 kilometres south of Newfoundland, two federal cabinet ministers came forward Wednesday to say the Canadian government害羞草研究所檚 focus is on saving lives, not on the cost of the rescue operation.
In Ottawa, the minister responsible for the Canadian Coast Guard, Joyce Murray, said the mounting bills for the United States-led mission were 害羞草研究所渋rrelevant害羞草研究所� as long as there was a chance of saving those on the 6.4-metre Titan submersible, which was reported missing Sunday after it set off to explore the wreck of the Titanic.
害羞草研究所淲e are going to do everything that we can,害羞草研究所� Murray told reporters. 害羞草研究所淲e have a chance to find this submersible and bring people to the surface 害羞草研究所�. I think there害羞草研究所檚 nothing that害羞草研究所檚 too much. These are human beings and we need to do what we can to save them.害羞草研究所�
Defence Minister Anita Anand said much the same later when she confirmed the Royal Canadian Navy had dispatched HMCS Glace Bay, a maritime coastal defence vessel, to help with the search.
害羞草研究所淎t this point, we are doing whatever we can to save lives and that is our most important priority,害羞草研究所� she told a media briefing.
Aside from the small warship, Canada has also sent a CP-140 Aurora long-range patrol aircraft, which can search below the surface of the water by dropping sonar-equipped buoys that transmit signals back to the plane.
Early on Wednesday, the U.S. Coast Guard issued a statement saying the crew aboard the Aurora had detected some sort of noise underwater, but it was unclear what that indicated. The submersible, operated by U.S.-based OceanGate, is believed to have enough air aboard to last until Thursday morning.
As the search entered its fourth day, critics on social media raised questions about the logic behind committing so many resources to saving members of an elite, high-risk expedition that charged members of the public $250,000 to take part.
害羞草研究所淭he rescue operation must be costing millions of dollars,害羞草研究所� said one online commenter who was responding to a Tweet comparing the rescue effort to the many failed bids to save migrants from flimsy ships that continue to founder in the Mediterranean. The United Nations has recorded more than 20,000 deaths and disappearances along the Mediterranean coast since 2014, making it the most dangerous migrant crossing in the world.
害羞草研究所淥f course, (the Titan submersible rescue) should happen, but a fraction of that is spent on rescuing, or not rescuing, migrants fleeing persecution,害羞草研究所� the Twitter post said. 害羞草研究所淪adly, such disparities (are) commonplace.害羞草研究所�
Christopher Boyer, executive director of the U.S.-based National Association for Search and Rescue, said the debate over who should pay for the high-risk operation is complicated by the fact that there is a simple 害羞草研究所渟ocial contract,害羞草研究所� or moral imperative, that essentially states: When someone害羞草研究所檚 in need, we want to help.
害羞草研究所淧eople have done stupid things throughout time and yet we害羞草研究所檝e still come to their aid,害羞草研究所� said Boyer, whose non-profit group oversees advocacy, training, testing and certification for those involved in search and rescue.
害羞草研究所淎s human beings, we can害羞草研究所檛 just look away from this sort of thing.害羞草研究所�
Still, Boyer said the issue is worthy of debate.
As a comparison, he said the medical establishment was once committed to saving lives, regardless of individual circumstances. But that changed with the advent of do-not-resuscitate orders.
害羞草研究所淚t took an act like that to get us to the point where someone could say, 害羞草研究所業 don害羞草研究所檛 want heroic measures taken to save me.害羞草研究所� And maybe there should be something similar for high-risk activities, where (people say) we don害羞草研究所檛 expect heroic measures to save us if something goes wrong.害羞草研究所�
Those who try to climb Mount Everest, for example, understand that if their bodies fail near the summit, no one is coming to rescue them, Boyer said. 害羞草研究所淎nd we have a similar situation here (in the North Atlantic), where this is such an extreme environment and limited resources.害羞草研究所�
As a result, Boyer says there should be a discussion about whether different rules should apply when people take part in extreme expeditions, such as commercial space flights.
Meanwhile, the Canadian Coast Guard has committed to sending a small fleet to rescue those aboard the minivan-sized Titan submersible. The offshore science vessel CCGS John Cabot, the heavy icebreaker CCGS Terry Fox and the multitask vessel CCGS Ann Harvey are now part of the rescue team.
害羞草研究所淲e are continuing to support the United States, which is leading the search and recovery effort,害羞草研究所� Anand said Wednesday. 害羞草研究所淩ight now, all of the direction and information-gathering to reach 害羞草研究所� next steps is being led by the United States.害羞草研究所�
On Tuesday, the United States Coast Guard said a Bahamian research vessel, Deep Energy, had arrived at the submersible害羞草研究所檚 last reported position and that the ship then deployed a remotely operated vehicle. As well, a C-130 Hercules aircraft from the U.S. Air National Guard started searching the area at 5 p.m. ADT.
Canadian commercial ships have also joined the search, including the supply vessel Atlantic Merlin, the anchor handler Horizon Arctic, and the multipurpose offshore vessel Skandi Vinland. The French Research vessel L害羞草研究所橝talante is also part of the search team.
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