The five crew members of the Titan submersible were confirmed dead Thursday after a debris field was found on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, a couple of hundred metres from the wreckage of the Titanic.
U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. John Mauger said the debris field was consistent with catastrophic loss of the submersible's pressure chamber.
The Titan, which was operated by U.S.-based OceanGate Expeditions, lost contact with surface vessels on Sunday morning as it was nearing the Titanic shipwreck during a 3,800-metre dive. The company released a statement shortly after the debris field was found:
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 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.
The debris was discovered by a crew operating a remotely operated vehicle aboard the Horizon Arctic, a Canadian-flagged offshore tug and supply vessel.
