All five tourists on the missing OceanGate Titan submarine are presumed dead after US Coast Guard officials announced the ship suffered a “catastrophic implosion”.
The news broke Thursday after authorities confirmed the wreckage found was part of the submarine in question.
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According to the US Coast Guard, all five missing submarine tourists died in a “catastrophic implosion”.
The debris was on the seabed 1600 feet from the bow of the RMS Titanic, Rear Admiral Wayne R Arguin Jr said during a news conference on Thursday afternoon.
“After consulting experts, the debris suggests a catastrophic loss of the hyperbaric chamber,” Arguin told reporters. “On that basis, we informed the families immediately.”
Another US Coast Guard spokesman described the problem as a “catastrophic implosion.”
BREAKING: US Coast Guard confirms debris consistent with catastrophic implosion#Titan #Implodes #Titanic #OceanGate pic.twitter.com/kU3YA3CppG
— stonking.com (@stonking) June 22, 2023
Rear Admiral says he hopes discovery will bring peace to families
Arguin also offered his heartfelt condolences to the families of British entrepreneurs Hamish Harding and Stockton Rush, who both co-founded OceanGate CEO, as well as Pakistani billionaire Shahzada and his son Suleman Dawood and Paul-Henri Nargeolet, a French diver.
The rear admiral said he hoped the discovery “will bring some comfort to the families”.
“I can only imagine what it was like for her. I hope this discovery brings some comfort at this difficult time,” he added.
Meanwhile, the company, whose submarine was implicated in the deadly and catastrophic loss, released a statement on the five men just ahead of Thursday’s press conference, CNN reports.
“These men were true explorers who shared a strong spirit of adventure and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans,” the statement said. “Our hearts go out to these five souls and each member of their families at this tragic time. We mourn the loss of life and joy they brought to all who knew them.”
What’s Next: Officials are investigating the how, why and when of a catastrophic implosion
The statement continued, “This is a very sad time for the entire explorer community and for all family members of those who died at sea. We respectfully ask that the privacy of these families be respected at this painful time.”
The next phase is to continue investigating the debris field and trying to recover the bodies. Officials want to find out how, why and when the catastrophic implosion happened.
According to various reports, the submarine was said to have run out of oxygen at 7:08 a.m. on Thursday. The ship was equipped with a four-day emergency oxygen supply.
The ship descended on Sunday (June 18) for a dive to explore the wreck of the RMS Titanic. However, it lost signal in the Atlantic Ocean 370 miles off Newfoundland, Canada, according to a statement from Harding’s “Explorer Club.”
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