Update:
In breaking news, OceanGate Expeditions on Thursday says its pilot and chief executive Stockton Rush, along with passengers Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet “have sadly been lost.”
CNN reported that the previously described “debris field” that was found earlier is within 500 meters from the Titanic ship, and that there were visible pieces of what is probably the hull of the Titan submersible.
Rear Admiral John Mauger, First Coast Guard District commander, said a remote operate vehicle from the Vessel Horizon Arctic discovered the tail cone of the Titan submersible approximately 1600 feet from the bow of the Titanic.
“The debris is consistent with the catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber. Upon this determination, we immediately notified the families on behalf of the United States Coast Guard and the entire unified command,” Mauger 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. Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time. We grieve the loss of life and joy they brought to everyone they knew.”
“This is an extremely sad time for our dedicated employees who are exhausted and grieving deeply over this loss. The entire OceanGate family is deeply grateful for the countless men and women from multiple organizations of the international community who expedited wide-ranging resources and have worked so very hard on this mission. We appreciate their commitment to finding these five explorers, and their days and nights of tireless work in support of our crew and their families.”
“This is a very sad time for the entire explorer community, and for each of the family members of those lost at sea. We respectfully ask that the privacy of these families be respected during this most painful time.”
Earlier, the Coast Guard had said that a ‘debris field’ had been found by an underwater robot within the search area by an ROV near the Titanic.
Underwater remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) were deployed Thursday morning to search the Atlantic Ocean floor for OceanGate’s Titan submarine, which vanished Sunday morning with five passengers onboard.
The Coast Guard earlier said the “Canadian vessel Horizon Arctic has deployed an ROV that has reached the sea floor and began its search for the missing sub.” The debris field was found on the seabed floor at a depth of about 4,000m by a Horizon Arctics’ remote operated vehicle (ROV), officials said.
The French vessel L’Atalante also deployed their ROV, it added.
The Titan submarine vanished Sunday morning with five people onboard: OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, French mariner Paul-Henry Nargeolet, British businessman and explorer Hamish Harding, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Sulaiman Dawood.
The oxygen inside the Titan was estimated by the Coast Guard to run out on Thursday morning, but that was deemed to be an overly optimistic estimate.
