Despite the participation of rescue efforts from around the world, the occupants of the submersible that went missing in the North Atlantic never returned alive.
The U.S. Coast Guard said on the 22nd that all five people on board the Titanic, a deep-sea submersible operated for tourists to see the wreckage of the Titanic, which sank 111 years ago, are believed to have died.
It has been four days since contact was lost 1 hour and 45 minutes after the start of the dive on the morning of the 18th.
The Coast Guard made this conclusion based on the remains of five submersibles, including a tail cone (conical structure at the tail of the aircraft) found on the seabed 488 meters from the bow of the Titanic.
An internal explosion appears to have occurred in the submersible.
“The debris supports that a catastrophic explosion occurred on this submersible,” Boston Coast Guard Major General John Moger said at a briefing.
It is difficult to know at this time whether the Titan exploded on the day of its disappearance or later, Moger added.
During the search, thumping underwater noise was detected over two days, raising hopes that the missing people were still alive, but it turned out that there was no relationship between the detected noise and the Titan.
However, when asked about the possibility of finding the body, Mauger said he was not sure, saying, “The seabed down there is an incredibly tough environment.”
The submersible includes Stockton Rush, CEO of Oceangate Expeditions, British billionaire Hamish Harding, Pakistani tycoon Shahjada Daoud and his son Suleman, and French maritime expert Paul Henri Nazolet. there was.
“His family was immediately notified (of his presumed death),” Mauger said.
The missing Titan is a 6.7m-long submersible made of carbon fiber and titanium, designed to carry a pilot and four passengers down to a depth of 4,000m.
As oxygen can be filled for up to four days, it was estimated that the ‘golden time’ was over in the morning, raising concerns.
As a result of this accident, it was also revealed that there had been issues raised inside and outside the company since 2018 that Oceangate had developed and operated this submersible without sufficient safety verification, causing controversy.
This submersible tour is an ultra-expensive tour product that costs 250,000 dollars per person.