Adam Beam SUTV News
After four days of searching, the Titan submersible is confirmed to have imploded, and all five passengers on board are believed dead according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
The five onboard include OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and Hamish Harding. In an official statement from OceanGate Expeditions said, "These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world's oceans."
The past several days have been a hectic race by the Coast Guard, and other international resources to locate the submersible which had been missing since Sunday. The submersible had been taken out to tour the remains of the 111-year-old remains of the Titanic.
It is believed that it was near the wreckage that the "catastrophic implosion" occurred, however, it is still being actively investigated when this took place. Earlier Thursday morning, debris was located near the wreckage. The debris was "consistent with the catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber," according to Rear Admiral John Mauger.
There were brief moments of hope on Tuesday and Wednesday when underwater sounds were picked up that show promise of the passengers survival. However, Mauger said that there now appears to be no connection between noises detected, and likely came from something other than the Titan.
Over the course of the search and rescue mission many began to question the integrity of the submersible and more details are beginning to come forward that the company had been aware of the risks that such a mission had posed. It should be noted that the submersible is not the same thing as a normal submarine. For starters, the vessel relies on another surface vessel to transport to and from voyages, as well as relying on it for navigation. The pilot in the Titan would be sent instructions via text message, and would then be controlled by a video-game controller.
*This story is still ongoing and will be updated as more details become available."
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