A FRENCH marine boss feared to be onboard the missing Titanic sub issued a chilling warning weeks before he vanished.

Rescue crews are frantically searching the Atlantic Ocean after the £200,000-a-head voyage carrying five passengers disappeared.

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It's believed Paul-Henry Nargeolet, 73, is on board, along with British billionaire Hamish Harding and Stockton Rush - CEO and Founder of OceanGate Inc.

Mr Nargeolet is the Director of Underwater Research Program at Premier Exhibitions, RMS Titanic, Inc.

Mr previously spoke frankly of the extreme dangers of deep-sea exploration in an interview.

What we know:

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What we know about Hamish Harding who tragically lost his life in the Titan sub

• Billionaire Hamish Harding is the first crew member to be  to be on the trip
• Harding posted about poor weather conditions just hour before vanishing
• Stockton Rush was also named as being on board the missing vessel
• The final ping from Titanic tourist sub revealed reveals more detail about the vessel's journey
• Experts fear the vessel could be tangled in Titanic’s wreckage
• The Titanic submarine vanished for HOURS last year
• Timeline reveals missing Titanic sub’s movements before it vanished

He said: “If you are 11m or 11km down, if something bad happens, the result is the same.

“When you’re in very deep water, you’re dead before you realise that something is happening, so it’s just not a problem.”

It comes after Harding, CEO of Action Aviation in Dubai, on Sunday posted on Facebook about poor weather conditions before the trip began.

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He said: "Due to the worst winter in Newfoundland in 40 years, this mission is likely to be the first and only manned mission to the Titanic in 2023.

"A weather window has just opened up and we are going to attempt a dive tomorrow.

"We started steaming from St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada yesterday and are planning to start dive operations around 4am tomorrow morning.

He added: "More expedition updates to follow IF the weather holds!"

The 58-year-old is known as one of the leaders of the record-breaking mission to orbit the Earth via both poles in 2019.

OceanGate, one of few companies offering trips to see the ruins, confirmed a major search mission has been launched to "bring the crew back safely".

Tickets for tourists to see the wreckage - which is around 600km off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada - cost up to £195,000.

The company previously revealed it uses Elon Musk's Starlink to communicate with the vessel, however it's not clear what has gone wrong with the network.

OceanGate's sub - Titan - has the capacity for one pilot and four others and an oxygen supply able to last 96 hours.

A spokesman for OceanGate said: "We are exploring and mobilising all options to bring the crew back safely.

"Our entire focus is on the crewmembers in the submersible and their families.

"We are deeply thankful for the extensive assistance we have received from several government agencies and deep sea companies in our efforts to reestablish contact with the submersible.

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"We are working toward the safe return of the crewmembers."

The Sun has approached OceanGate for comment.

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