France to send ship to Titanic sub rescue operation - ministry

France will send a ship equipped with a deep-sea diving vessel to the rescue operation following the disappearance of a submersible which took wealthy tourists to visit the site of the Titanic wreckage, the French education ministry said on Tuesday.

The ship, called the Atalante, is managed by the Ifremer research institute which acts under the ministry's authority.

A French government source added that a French national was among those on board the vessel.