Nik Halik, explorer who has been to Titanic wreckage, monitors OceanGate submersible incident from Colorado
Nik Halik has dedicated his life to thrill seeking.
"I've actually been to the Titanic twice. I do a lot of deep see exploration. I'm an astronaut. I've been suborbit into space. I jumped off Mount Everest on my birthday.
And in 2005 he took a trip that still bring emotion to him today.
"It's the most surreal thing in the world," he told CBS News Colorado, describing his visit to the Titanic. "The silence, the lack of ambient light, the lack of any particular sea life.
"It's riddled with leather suitcases, the dreams of all these immigrants fleeing to the New World."
The son of immigrants himself, he connected with the plight of the Titanic's passengers.
"It's just a very, very special environment," he said.
"The submersible I went down with was the same one that James Cameron used to document the movie 'Titanic.'"
Through worldwide adventure, he has run in circles with British businessman Hamish Harding, one of the victims in this week's Titan sub tragedy. OceanGate said on Thursday its vessel experienced a "catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber," and confirmed that the debris found on the sea floor were pieces of the missing sub.
"(Harding) was counting down the days so he could explore the wreck and feel that surreal emotional context to it," he said.
Halik says he's critical of OceanGate's submersible. He called their adventure a "phenomenal risk, exponential risk." He says the company is uncertified and used carbon fiber instead of steel for its sub, which many people feel is much better tested under that much pressure deep in the ocean.
"There wasn't any government sign off on that particular craft and the fear in the marketplace was that OceanGate was going to demonize the industry because of the risk factors and that was the biggest concern," Halik said.
Halik knows that human spirit and drive will bring explorers back to see the Titanic wreckage for themselves.
"The probing of curiosity is being frowned upon. And there's nothing wrong with being curious or exploring history," he said.
