The submersible Titan carrying five people imploded near the shipwreck, killing all five on board, US Coast Guards said on Thursday, bringing an end to an international round the clock search operation.
OceanGate Expeditions, the company that owned and operated the submersible, said in a statement that all five people in the vessel, including CEO and pilot Stockton Rush, “have sadly been lost.”
The others on board were two members of a prominent Pakistani family, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood; British adventurer Hamish Harding; and Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet.
The US Navy likely detected the implosion Sunday through its acoustics system, underwater sounds heard Tuesday and Wednesday, which initially gave hope for a possible rescue. The Navy’s possible clue was not known publicly until Thursday, when The Wall Street Journal first reported it.
The Coast Guards will keep searching for the clues and more signs about what happened to the submersible.
The White House thanked the U.S. Coast Guard, along with Canadian, British and French partners who helped in the search and rescue efforts.
“Our hearts go out to the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives on the Titan. They have been through a harrowing ordeal over the past few days, and we are keeping them in our thoughts and prayers,” it said in a statement.
Nicolai Roterman, a deep-sea ecologist and lecturer in marine biology at the University of Portsmouth, England, said the disappearance of the Titan highlights the dangers and unknowns of deep-sea tourism.
