UPDATE (June 22– 11:35 pm ET): Officials from the U.S. Navy said on Thursday that Navy sensors likely picked up on the catastrophic implosion that took the lives of 5 passengers of the Titan submersible. According to The Washington Post, US Navy sensors detected what was likely the implosion of the doomed OceanGate vessel on June 19, just hours after it set out from Newfoundland.
ORIGINAL STORY: The tourist submersible vessel that vanished while on its way to see the Titanic’s wreckage in the North Atlantic Ocean has been declared lost. OceanGate released a statement stating that they believed that the vessel was lost and the five crew members were dead, per CNN. “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,” they said in a statement.
OceanGate continued and thanked the teams that kept at work trying to find the missing passengers. “This is an extremely sad time for our dedicated employees who are exhausted and grieving deeply over this loss,” they said. “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.”
The company concluded with condolences for the loved ones of those lost. “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,” they said.
The news of the submersible’s loss was released after the Coast Guard revealed that they had found debris from the vessel. After the company’s statement, the Coast Guard held a press conference where they also said that they believed that the crew members were dead. A spokesperson said that they believed that they had been the victims of a “catastrophic implosion” and debris was found off the bow of the Titanic. “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. On behalf of the United States Coast Guard and the entire Unified Command, I offer my deepest condolences to the families,” a Coast Guard spokesperson said.
The news of the discovery of the submersible vessel, named Titan, and its passengers comes 4 Days after an extensive search for the 22-foot vessel was underway. It was first reported losing contact on Sunday, June 19, and was said to roughly be 900 miles east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and in around 13,000 feet deep in the water. The US Coast Guard immediately got their search started and various press conferences were made to update the public about the tragic situation.
As the search was underway, information about the five passengers was released and many hopeful people around the world were wishing for the best outcome. Many social media users and media outlets discussed the various scenarios the Titan may have been in and revealed how long it would have oxygen before the passengers would be in danger. Since all contact was lost, it was unknown if the vessel had electricity or not, or if there was a technical issue that caused the loss of contact. There was also speculation about whether or not there was enough food or water on board and if the submersible vessel was able to float back above the ocean in time.
Captain Jamie Frederick, the Coast Guard’s response coordinator in the search, gave details about what steps they would need to take once the vessel was found. “If the sub is located, then it’s up to the experts to tell us the next steps for salvaging and recovery,” he said on June 20, according to the Washington Post. “Right now, our effort is on searching.”