A massive multi-national search operation was launched after the Titan submersible went missing an hour and 45 minutes into the trip down to the sunken remains of the Titanic
The debris field found earlier near the wreck of the Titanic has been confirmed as belonging to the missing Titan submersible, with all five passengers declared dead.
The vessel went missing on Sunday along with the five crew, which included three Brits. A “catastrophic implosion” is believed to have taken place, US Coast Guard has confirmed.
In a press conference on Thursday, Rear Admiral John Mauger, First Coast Guard District commander told reporters they had found debris of the missing Titan.
The families of the crew have been informed of the findings. The debris field was found 1,600 feet from the bow of the sunken Titanic, a spokesperson for the USCG said.
Founding member of the Board of Trustees of The Explorers Club, Hamish Harding, was on board, alongside UK-based businessman Shahzada Dawood, his son Suleman Dawood, and OceanGate’s chief executive and founder Stockton Rush, as well as French submersible pilot Paul-Henri Nargeolet.
The Titan submersible lost contact with its mother ship Polar Prince an hour and 45 minutes into its journey about 435 miles south of St John’s, Newfoundland.
The update from the USCG came moments after OceanGate, the business behind the trip, said they believed the crew to be dead.
A spokesperson for the company said: “We now believe that our CEO Stockton Rush, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet, have sadly been lost.
“These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans. Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time. We grieve the loss of life and joy they brought to everyone they knew.
“This is an extremely sad time for our dedicated employees who are exhausted and grieving deeply over this loss.”
David Mearns, a rescue expert who is friends with two of the men on the vessel including Mr Harding, told Sky News: “They don’t use phrases like ‘debris field’ unless there’s no chance of a recovery of the men alive.
“A debris field implies a break-up of the submersible … that really sort of indicates what is the worst-case scenario, which is a catastrophic failure and generally that’s an implosion.
“The only saving grace is that it would have been immediate – literally in milliseconds – and the men wouldn’t have known what was happening.”
The vessel was about 435 miles south of St John’s, Newfoundland, during a voyage to the Titanic shipwreck off the coast of Canada.
Authorities were hoping underwater sounds would help narrow their massive search area, which stretched over an area twice the size of Connecticut and in waters 2 1/2 miles (4km) deep.
Coast Guard officials said underwater noises were detected in the search area Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Titan submersible was estimated to have about a four-day supply of breathable air when it launched Sunday morning in the North Atlantic but experts repeatedly emphasised it was an estimate.
Mirror