Five pieces of missing debris from the OceanGate Titan vessel, which was carrying five passengers has been found about 1,600 ft from the Titanic wreckage, according to reports from an official press conference.
They are calling it a “catastrophic explosion.” This news comes over 72 hours after the vessel went missing on Sunday. The sub debris was found near the Titanic ship’s bow.
“The debris field is consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vessel,” a U.S. Coast Guard official said.
The deep-sea expedition set to explore the depths of the ocean and the Titanic wreckage took a turn for the worse when communications ceased on Sunday. The passengers included: British businessman Hamish Harding, Pakistani billionaire Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, and French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet.
The vessel was reported overdue Sunday night about 435 miles (700 kilometres) south of St. John’s, Newfoundland, according to Canada’s Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
According to the Coast Guard, the craft submerged Sunday morning, and its support vessel, the Canadian research icebreaker Polar Prince, lost contact with it about an hour and 45 minutes later.
OceanGate Expeditions released a statement on Monday saying:
“We are exploring and mobilizing all options to bring the crew back safely. Our entire focus is on the crewmembers in the submersible and their families. We are deeply thankful for the extensive assistance we have received from several government agencies and deep sea companies in our efforts to reestablish contact with the submersible. We are working toward the safe return of the crew members.”
Lt. Cmdr. Len Hickey said a Canadian Coast Guard vessel and military aircraft were assisting the search effort, which was being led by the U.S. Coast Guard in Boston.
Foreign aid and Navy assistance joined the search and rescue over the past few days. All five passengers are presumed dead. Oxygen supply had run out as of Thursday morning.
OceanGate Inc. is a privately held company that provides crewed submersible assets and expertise for commercial, research and military applications.
Their websites have since been inactive.
