The Titan began its two-hour descent to the Titanic wreck on Sunday. It lost communication with its surface vessel about an hour and 45 minutes into the dive. All five members of the missing Titan submarine are believed to be dead, the company OceanGate said in a statement on Thursday afternoon at a press conference, coast guard spokesperson confirmed that debris discovered near the Titanic wreckage was from the Titan.
Five major pieces were found, including a nose cone outside the pressure hull, around 1,600 feet from the submerged Titanic bow. On Thursday, a remotely operated vehicle discovered five major parts of the submersible. Some of that debris was located on the ocean floor, 480m (1600 ft) from the bow of the Titanic wreck the exact location has not been disclosed.
The families and friends of those lost on the Titan sub have been paying tribute to their loved ones. Relatives of the renowned French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet said he will be remembered as “one of the greatest deep-sea explorers in modern history”. The 77-year-old was known as a world-leading Titanic expert who had completed more than 35 dives to the ocean liner wreck.
The Dawood family, who are grieving after the loss of Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his son Suleman, 19, said: “The family remains overwhelmed with the love and support that it has received and is grateful to those who showcased the best in humanity.”
The family of British billionaire explorer Hamish Harding have called him “a dedicated father” and said: “If we can take any small consolation from this tragedy, it’s that we lost him doing what he loved.”
Stockton Rush was the chief executive of OceanGate, the firm that operates the Titanic voyages on the lost submersible. The company said it was a tragic time, adding: “These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans.” We still don’t know for sure when the Titan sub imploded.
Dik Barton, the first British man to dive into the wreck of the Titanic, describes Titan passenger Paul-Henry Nargeolet as an “extraordinary individual”. Speaking to BBC Breakfast, pays tribute to his friend and French explorer, reminiscing on the dives they had done together. Barton also calls into question the design and the maintenance of the OceanGate craft, saying “There were many red flags.
Guillermo Söhnlein, a co-founder of OceanGate, has rejected some of the criticisms directed at the company over safety and certification. Söhnlein said it had been a “tragic loss for the ocean exploration community” but anyone who operates in the deep ocean “knows the risk of operating under such pressure and that at any given moment… you run the risk of this kind of implosion”. He added that he thought technology and innovation can outpace regulation and developers are in a better position to understand the risks and best minimize them. But he says: “What we were doing was a professional, underwater exploration using purpose-built submersibles which are designed to work at those depths.”
“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,” OceanGate said in a statement. “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.”
Story by Abena Ahenkan.
Source: BBC News
