The remains of the imploded OceanGate submersible Titan have been spotted for the first time after all of the five people on board were found to have died on their way to the Titanic wreck site.
The debris was found during a large search and rescue mission that took several days and gripped the world's media before it was reported that a ‘catastrophic implosion’ occurred when the sub lost contact with the surface, killing all five passengers almost instantly.
The submersible was diving to the wreck site of the Titanic at the time of the implosion, losing contact with the pilot ship Polar Prince after about an hour and 45 minutes.
After going missing on 18 June, a huge rescue mission led by the US Coast Guard took place, although it was to no avail.
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At the time of the disappearance, it had been reported that there may have been as much as 96 hours of emergency oxygen on board the craft, but that time elapsed.
Then, it was announced that debris was found near to the area - around 600km off Newfoundland - that the sub was believed to be in at the time it went missing.
The man in charge of the search, US Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger, said that the debris was ‘consistent with a catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber’.
Five people were on board at the time, OceanGate CEO and co-founder Stockton Rush, British billionaire Hamish Harding, French diver and Titanic expert Paul-Henry Nargeolet, and father and son Shahzada and Suleman Dawood.
In a statement just before the USCG announcement, OceanGate 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 continued: "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."
An investigation will now take place into the submersible's safety, as well as the search and rescue mission.
Topics: Titanic, World News
Tom Wood