Yahoo News All Titanic wreckage trips should be cancelled, says scientist
Scientist and journalist Michael Guillen, who visited the wreckage of the Titanic 20 years ago, said all trips to the site should be stopped.
All trips to the Titanic should be stopped until the cause of the Titan submersible tragedy is determined, a scientist and journalist who dived to the wreckage two decades ago has said.
Michael Guillen, who was the first TV reporter to visit the Titanic, said the site is "sacred ground" and should be treated as such.
He said: "We need to put a stop to all trips to the Titanic.
"This is what we did when the shuttle Challenger exploded, we shut down the entire US Space program.
"We need to do at least that, now.
"Whether we find the vessel and, and determine what went wrong with this vessel, we need to stop, pause, take a deep breath and ask people this question, why do you want to go to the Titanic and how do you get there safely?"
Guillen has previously described his own terrifying experience in a Russian submersible when he was the science editor for ABC News.
He told Sky News the sub got caught in an underwater current which led to it hitting the Titanic's propeller smashing into the 21-ton propeller, trapping the vessel, leaving those on board fearing they would die.
The vessel was eventually freed and the team made it back to the surface but now, more than two decades on he has said similar trips should be stopped.
Read more: James Cameron says he wishes he'd sounded alarm over lost submersible
Holding back tears, the journalist said: "I remember one of the things that hit me like a sledgehammer when I was down at the bow, we had a moment of prayer for these people.
"And then as you tour the bow, there's a little plaque, right where the captain used to be, and it's in memory of the children who lost their lives in this wreck."
He added: "This is not a looky loo. This is not a touristy thing. This is a serious site that needs to be treated with respect."
Watch: Student, 19, killed was 'terrified' before trip
After desperate searches for the missing Titan sub, an unmanned deep-sea robot found the wreckage of the OceanGate Expeditions submersible on Thursday morning close to the bow of the Titanic wreck.
Officials have not said what the prospects are of recovering the bodies of the five people on board:- British explorer Hamish Harding; British businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son, Suleman; French submersible pilot Paul-Henri Nargeolet; and chief executive of OceanGate Expeditions Stockton Rush.
