The five people aboard a missing submersible died in what appears to have been a “catastrophic implosion,” a US Coast Guard official said on Thursday, bringing a grim end to the massive international search for the vessel that was lost during a voyage to the Titanic.
“These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans,” OceanGate Expeditions, the US-based company that operated the Titan submersible, said in a statement.
“Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time.”
US Coast Guard confirms Titanic submersible imploded, passengers not yet found:
The Coast Guard confirmed a catastrophic implosion of the pressure chamber of the vessel and that the debris field was found about 500 meters off the bow of the Titanic wreckage.
The US Coast informed the families of those on board immediately after the debris field was discovered, offering them their condolences.
The discovery of the debris field brings to an end the extensive multinational rescue operation while investigations of the area will continue in order to try to determine a timeline.
The Coast Guard was unable to say when exactly the implosion might have happened and given the harsh terrain at remote depths, around 4km below the ocean’s surface, they were unable to confirm if bodies might be recovered.
Oxygen aboard the vessel would have been depleted by early Thursday even if Titan had remained intact, an indication that survival was increasingly remote.
“This morning an ROV, a remote-operated vehicle from the vessel Horizon Arctic, discovered the tail cone of the Titan submersible, approximately 1,600 feet (488 meters) from the bow of the Titanic on the seafloor. The ROV subsequently found additional debris. In consultation with experts from within the unified command, the debris is consistent with the catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber. Upon this determination, we immediately notified the families,” said US Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger, at a news conference.
Mauger added that the debris found was consistent with “a catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber.”
Rescue teams from several countries had spent days searching thousands of square miles of open seas with planes and ships for any sign of the 22-foot (6.7-meter) Titan, operated by US-based OceanGate Expeditions. – additional reporting by Sherwin Bryce-Pease
Earlier update on the matter with Sherwin Bryce-Pease:
