Some watching NewsNation’s coverage yesterday of the OceanGate submarine that went missing while seeking to explore the wreck of the Titanic were surprised by a certain aspect of the broadcast.

No, it wasn’t Ashley Banfield’s investigation into whether a giant squid “attacked” the submersible. Rather, it was the “Oxygen Remaining” countdown clock in the lower righthand portion of the screen that literally ticked off the hours and minutes that may be remaining before five people run out of air.

Of course, countdown clocks are a staple of cable news coverage. They’re often used to tease coverage a coming event, such as a presidential speech or the closing of polls on election night. But NewsNation’s application of the feature yesterday upset many watching.

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A good number of the comments on the clip of Banfield’s segment were critical of the move.

“Wow. The count down clock,” wrote one person.

“How insensitive having a countdown clock for oxygen…” wrote another.

A third commenter posted, “Way to go NewsNation… a countdown clock on the potential oxygen left for these 5 souls? You literally have no shame. Terrible lack of empathy and decision making. Were you going to countdown the final seconds? Ashleigh, you’re better than that to allow this on your show.”

While at least two of the network’s segments on the topic yesterday featured the oxygen clock, the feature was missing from its Morning in America show this morning. It’s unclear what prompted that decision.

NewsNation did not respond to Deadline’s request for comment.

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