OceanGate, the diving company in charge of the Titanic tour trip has confirmed that all passengers aboard Titan, the submersible, are dead.
The company made the announcement in a statement on Thursday evening, after rescue teams discovered debris believed to be from Titan near the Titanic.
According to John Mauger of the United States Coast Guard, the submersible with five passengers suffered a “catastrophic implosion,” killing everyone on board.
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Titan began a two-hour descent on Sunday morning to see the Titanic wreckage at the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean, nearly 13,000 feet below land, southeast of Newfoundland, Canada.
OceanGate Expeditions charges $250,000 per person for the eight-day journey.
Titan lost contact with the Polar Prince, the mothership, about an hour and 45 minutes into its descent.
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The search began immediately, and hours later, a Canadian P-3 aircraft detected underwater noises in the search area, but efforts to pinpoint the source were futile.
Three vessels had previously arrived to join the search for the missing submersible, including one equipped with technology capable of detecting and mapping objects on the seafloor.
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Earlier today, the US Coast Guard (USCG) stated that the oxygen supply was expected to run out by 1 p.m. UK time.
The estimate was based on the number of hours of oxygen available to the craft’s five occupants and the time it submerged (1 p.m. UK time on Sunday).
Experts said the projected supply of breathable air could be extended if passengers took measures to conserve oxygen.
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The USCG said rescue vessels found on the sea floor were “consistent with the catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber” from the Titan.
The submersible’s tail cone was discovered on the sea floor about 1,600 feet away from the Titanic’s bow and other debris nearby, according to John Mauger, commander of the First Coast Guard District.
The crew pod was not discovered.
ALL THE PASSENGERS FELT DEAD.
In a statement, OceanGate confirmed fears that the passengers of the Titanic-bound submersible had “sadly perished.”
“We now believe that our CEO Stockton Rush, Shahzada Dawood and his son, Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet have sadly perished,” according to the statement.
“These men were true explorers with a strong sense of adventure and a strong desire to explore and protect the world’s oceans.” During this tragic time, our hearts go out to these five souls and every member of their families. We mourn the loss of their lives and the joy they brought to everyone they knew.”
The company described the loss as a “very sad time” for the entire explorer community and requested that the privacy of the affected families “be respected during this most painful time.”
