The US Coast Guard has said the Titan submersible, which sparked a massive search after going missing on Sunday, was destroyed by a ‘catastrophic implosion’ with the loss of all five people aboard.
Rear Admiral John Mauger told a news conference that analysis of the ‘debris field’ which was found on the floor of the Atlantic near the wreck of the Titanic, which the crew was visiting, led to the conclusion.
The debris was located around 1,600 feet (487m) from the bow of the world-famous ship, which sank with the loss of around 1,500 lives in 1912.
A few minutes before the press conference began, OceanGate – which owned the Titan submersible and organised the expedition – paid tribute to the five ‘true explorers’ who were onboard.
They were:
- Shahzada Dawood, a British-Pakistani businessman
- Suleman Dawood, the 19-year-old son of Shahzada and a student of Strathclyde University in Glasgow
- Hamish Harding, a British billionaire and owner of the company Action Aviation
- Paul-Henri Nargeolet, a French explorer who was one of the world’s most respected Titanic experts
- Stockton Rush, the American CEO of OceanGate
In a statement, 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.’
The statement continues: ‘The entire OceanGate family is deeply grateful for the countless men and women from multiple organizations of the international community who expedited wide-ranging resources and have worked so very hard on this mission.
‘We appreciate their commitment to finding these five explorers, and their days and nights of tireless work in support of our crew and their families.
‘This is a very sad time for the entire explorer community, and for each of the family members of those lost at sea.
‘We respectfully ask that the privacy of these families be respected during this most painful time.’
Asked about the logistics of recovering the bodies of the five crew members, Rear Admiral Mauger said: ‘This is an incredibly unforgiving environment, there on the sea floor.
‘The debris is consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vessel, and so we’ll continue to work and continue to search the area down there, but I don’t have an answer for prospects at this time.’
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