Debris of the Titanic submersible that had gone missing was retrieved. The findings reveal that the submarine could have been crushed due to high pressure.
Catastrophic Implosion
The US Coast Guard (USCG) revealed in a press conference that the Titanic submersible could have endured a catastrophic implosion that led to the deaths of the five people aboard, as Live Science explains.
Per Space.com, Admiral John Mauger of the USCG explained that a remotely operated vehicle from the Horizon Arctic was able to find the submersible's tail cone roughly 1,600 feet from the Titanic's bow on the seafloor. The debris was found after four days of international rescue efforts that Canadian and US authorities directed.
Such debris findings align with the pressure chamber's devastating loss. Mauger adds that they immediately reached out to the families upon determining the findings.
Former US Navy physician Dale Mole also explained to the BBC that the findings indicated an implosion and that death would have happened instantly.
When and how the catastrophic implosion took place remains unclear, but the craft's custom design offers experts several possible scenarios. Some specialists think that the submersible imploded because of titanium hull and carbon fiber faults, while others think that the implosion could have been caused by the sub's viewpoint.
Condolences Expressed
Mauger expresses his condolences to the bereaved families on behalf of the USCG and the whole unified command. He adds that he can only imagine what they experienced and that he hopes that the findings could offer solace in this challenging period.
OceanGate, the company behind the Titan submersible, expressed in a statement quoted by CNN that they believe that CEO Stockton Rush, Hamish Harding, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Shahzada Dawood, and his son Suleman Dawood have all sadly been lost.
Per Futurism, OceanGate goes on to say that these five men were real explorers who had a shared adventurous spirit and a passion for protecting and traversing the oceans of the world. They expressed grief over the loss of these individuals' lives and the joy that they had offered to the people they knew.
OceanGate also expresses their appreciation for the individuals from several organizations across the world who worked so hard on this mission. They commend their commitment to finding the five explorers.
The BBC adds that the search is being wound down in the next 24 hours. However, remotely operated vehicles will stay within the vicinity.
The Titan submersible, operated by OceanGate Expeditions, went missing after losing contact with surface support roughly an hour and 45 minutes into its supposedly two-hour dive, per Reuters. Experts were extremely concerned about the limited oxygen supply of the crew onboard.
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