Leading most front pages on Thursday morning is the rescue mission seeking to save five Titanic explorers on their missing submersible. At a news conference on Wednesday, rescuers promised not to give up hope – but Metro reports the sub’s supply of oxygen will expire by 11am UK time.
The Daily Express reports that a deep sea robot deployed to find the crew can function at lower depths than the Titanic wreck – and according to the paper, it is the team of five’s last chance of survival. The men on board include British businessman Hamish Harding, 58, British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48, his son Suleman, 19, Paul-Henry Nargeolet, 77, a former French navy diver and Stockton Rush, 61, the chief executive of OceanGate, which runs the voyages at a cost of $250,000 (£195,270) per head.
Teenager Suleman Dawood, who is on board the sub, is pictured on the front page of The Daily Mirror. Acknowledging the grim possibility of air running out in the coming hours, the paper reports that the crew’s families have been left “holding on to hope”.
“Prayers for Titanic miracle” reads the Sun, as the paper pictures the US Navy’s robot vessel on its way heading underwater to find the five missing explorers.
The Daily Star reports on “banging sounds” which were reported yesterday in the hunt for the sub, picturing a “rescue ship” and noting that an international mission is going on to save the five people inside the sub.
The Daily Mail also reports on “banging sounds” heard in the area above the Titanic wreck – which is at a depth of 3,800m (12,500ft). Electromagnetic radiation, including radio and radar, are mostly useless underwater, but sound can travel fast over great distances.
The Financial Times instead focuses on the UK economy, reporting on tough decisions facing the Bank of England as “stubborn inflation piles pressure” on the bank to increase interest rates. It comes a day after the UK’s core inflation – excluding food and energy prices – hit 7.1%, the highest it’s been since 1992.
The i newspaper reports on deepening “mortgage pain” as the Bank of England’s expected interest rate rise “sparks new recession fears”. The assumption is that interest rates will rise by 0.25% to 4.75% today but some are suggesting they could go up to 5%. Rising rates mean homeowners are facing big increases in mortgage payments – and the paper reports “panicked” borrowers are pleading for help from mortgage brokers.
In its lead story the Times reports that Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s economic advisers “have turned on the Bank of England for its failure to curb inflation”, adding they have accused the institution of “exacerbating the mortgage crisis”. To mark the 75th anniversary of arrivals into the UK from the Caribbean onboard HMT Empire Windrush, the newspaper showcases a colourised picture from the boat at Tilbury Docks on 22 June 1948.
The Guardian also marks 75 years since Windrush, pointing its readers to a special report on how Windrush shaped the lives of passengers’ grandchildren. As Glastonbury returns for another year, the paper pictures festivalgoers arriving at the rainy site in Somerset. It leads with an exclusive report that security guards at a Del Monte pineapple farm in Kenya have been accused of “brutally assaulting and killing people suspected of trespassing on the farm’s land”. The company, which supplies UK supermarkets, told the paper it had launched a full and urgent investigation into the allegations.
The Daily Telegraph’s lead story says an NHS lung cancer test will be available for every former smoker. It reports that all those who have ever smoked will be offered a lung check from middle-age as part of the health service’s plan to “boost cancer survival rates”. Although “no formal decision has been taken”, the paper adds it understands the government is in talks about funding and rolling out the programme.
