Bethenny Frankel calls 'insane' missing Titan submersible a 'bad idea'
"Real Housewives of New York City" alum Bethenny Frankel has entered the chat.
The former reality TV star, 52, believes the decision of five passengers to voyage in the now-missing Titan submersible was a "bad idea," she told her followers on Instagram Wednesday.
"Who gets into a submarine that’s not Jacques Cousteau?" Frankel said in an Instagram Reel. "You want to be adventurous? Drink four margaritas and see what happens. Try a bathing suit on without your underwear, go to Burning Man dressed as a parakeet, I don't know."
The Skinnygirl mogul continued: "But going on a submarine, jumping out of airplanes, riding motorcycles, swimming with sharks — all of these things seem like a bad idea."
Frankel extended her sympathy at the end of the video, telling fans, "It's so tragic and so sad and so terrible. God bless those poor people."
"Praying they make it out alive," she added in her caption. "What do you think of this insane submarine incident?"
The search for the missing Titan submersible is growing
Rescue efforts were expanding and underwater noises were detected in the search for the missing submersible carrying five passengers to the Titanic wreckage site, a Coast Guard official said Wednesday.
An expert submariner from the British Royal Navy, a team of French specialists on remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and more ships and underwater vessels were joining the search, said Capt. Jamie Frederick, the First Coast Guard District response coordinator, in a news conference Wednesday afternoon.
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The search was growing "exponentially" across a surface area roughly two times the size of Connecticut and 2.5 miles deep, he said.
"There is an enormous complexity associated with this case, due to the location being so far offshore and the coordination between multiple agencies and nations," Frederick said.
The 22-foot submersible lost contact with its support ship Sunday about an hour and 45 minutes into its dive. On board are a British adventurer, two members of a prominent Pakistani business family, a Titanic expert and the CEO of OceanGate, the Washington state-based company that operates the vehicle.
Five vessels on the ocean's surface were searching for the submersible, called Titan, and five more were expected to join the effort, Frederick said. Underwater, two ROVs were searching and "several more'' were on the way and expected to arrive by Thursday morning to scan the sea floor, he said. Aircraft also were searching throughout the day.
Missing submersible live updates: Search expands 'exponentially'; more sounds heard
Less than a day's supply of oxygen and limited rations
Frederick said there are "limited rations" aboard the vessel, and experts feared it had less than a day's supply of oxygen left. Any decision about changing the search and rescue mission to a recovery mission would involve discussions with family members, Frederick said.
"When you're in the middle of a search and rescue case, you always have hope," he said.
The news comes as more information emerged about experts' attempts to warn OceanGate about the perils of its operations. Documents show an employee warned there might be safety problems posed by the way the experimental vehicle was developed, and leaders in the submersible craft industry told the company its approach to the enterprise could have a "catastrophic'' outcome.
Contributing: Jorge L. Ortiz, Claire Thornton, Thao Nguyen and Francisco Guzman, Grace Hauck, Jeanine Santucci
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bethenny Frankel reacts to 'insane' missing Titan submersible
