NEW DELHI: A deep-sea submarine carrying five personnel on a trip to the century-old Titanic wreckage was recovered in pieces, according to the U.S. Coast Guard, following a "catastrophic implosion" that claimed the lives of everyone on board.
According to US Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger, a robotic diving vehicle sent out from a Canadian ship on Thursday morning discovered a debris field from the submersible Titan on the seabed about 1,600 feet (488 metres) from the bow of the Titanic, 2 1/2 miles (4 km) below the surface, in a remote area of the North Atlantic.
The passengers included the mission's pilot, OceanGate Expeditions CEO Stockton Rush, 58; British billionaire and explorer Hamish Harding, 48; Pakistani-born businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his 19-year-old son, Suleman, both British citizens; and French oceanographer and renowned Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77, who had visited the wreck dozens of times.
Five main parts of the Titan, including the vessel's tail cone and two sections of the pressure hull, were discovered in the debris field left after its disintegration, according to Coast Guard officials. There was no indication of whether or not human remains were discovered.
Sonar buoys that were dropped by aircraft on Tuesday and Wednesday heard some sounds that raised hopes that the Titan was still intact and that her occupants were still alive and trying to communicate by beating on the hull. Officials claimed that the sound investigation was inconclusive and that something else was probably to blame for the noises.
The search became more frantic on Thursday, when the submersible's estimated 96-hour air supply was due to run out assuming the Titan remained intact, a countdown that proved ineffective.
The RMS Titanic, which hit an iceberg and sank during its maiden voyage in 1912, killing over 1,500 people on board, is located about 900 miles (1,450 kilometres) east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and 400 miles (640 kilometres) south of St. John's, Newfoundland.
According to the company's website, the submarine excursion to the wreck, which has been running since 2021, costs $250,000 per person.
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