All Five 'Titan' Sub Passengers Declared Dead
A major discovery by the U.S. Coast Guard indicates their deaths may have occurred suddenly not long after departure.
OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, along with passengers Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, and Hamish Harding, are all believed to have died in the tragic submarine accident that has gripped the world for the past few days.
The expedition company said on Thursday that everyone on board “has been lost.”
OceanGate gave no details on the cause of the accident, although earlier reports today may provide clues—like this one from The Epoch Times:
The U.S. Coast Guard search and rescue crews found a “debris field” near the wreckage of the Titanic in the North Atlantic Ocean (source).
A remotely operated vehicle (ROV) has been searching the ocean floor all day. In a Thursday afternoon interview, a diving expert and friend of the passengers named David Mearns said the submarine’s “landing frame and a rear cover” was found among the debris field.
The Coast Guard confirmed in their press conference on Thursday that the ROV found debris 1,600 feet from the bough of the tailbone of the Titanic wreckage, and they reported that the debris was consistent with a “catastrophic loss of pressure in the Titan chamber.”
Thursday morning is when the missing submarine passed the 96-hour window when the breathable air emergency supply would run out. What the Coast Guard is saying sounds likely that the five passengers instantly died at some point during the initial day of the excursion.
From the OceanGate prepared statement obtained by People:
"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," the company said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE.
"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," the statement continued.
"This is an extremely sad time for our dedicated employees who are exhausted and grieving deeply over this loss," read the company statement. "The entire OceanGate family is deeply grateful for the countless men and women from multiple organisations 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," the statement concluded. "We respectfully ask that the privacy of these families be respected during this most painful time." (source)