Sliver of hope wiped away: Titan submersible imploded, killing all 5 on board

A submersible carrying five people to Titanic imploded near site of shipwreck and killed everyone on board, authorities said Thursday, bringing a tragic end to a saga that included an urgent around--clock search and a worldwide vigil for missing vessel.

sliver of hope that remained for finding five men alive was wiped away early Thursday, when submersible’s 96-hour supply of oxygen was expected to run out following its Sunday launch and Coast Guard anunced that debris had been found roughly 1,600 feet (488 meters) from Titanic in rth Atlantic waters.

“This was a catastrophic implosion of vessel,” said Rear Adm. John Mauger, of First Coast Guard District.

After craft was reported missing, U.S. Navy went back and analyzed its acoustic data and found an amaly that was “consistent with an implosion or explosion in general vicinity of where Titan submersible was operating when communications were lost,” a senior Navy official told Associated Press on Thursday.

official spoke on condition of anymity to discuss a sensitive acoustic detection system.

Navy passed on that information to Coast Guard, which continued its search because Navy did t consider data to be definitive.

OceanGate Expeditions, company that owned and operated submersible, said in a statement that all five people in vessel, including CEO and pilot Stockton Rush, “have sadly been lost.”

ors 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.

FILE - This 2004 photo provided by Institute for Exploration, Center for Archaeological Oceagraphy/University of Rhode Island/AA Office of Ocean Exploration, shows remains of a coat and boots in mud on sea bed near Titanic's stern | Credit: AP

“se men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting world’s oceans,” OceanGate said in a statement. “We grieve loss of life and joy y brought to everyone y knew.”

OceanGate has been chronicling Titanic’s decay and underwater ecosystem around it via yearly voys since 2021. company has t responded to additional questions about Titan’s voy this week.

company’s office was “closed indefinitely while staff copes with tragic loss of ir team member,” according to a statement Thursday by Port of Everett, which is about 30 miles (50 kilometers) rth of downtown Seattle and is home to OceanGate.

Coast Guard will continue searching for more signs about what happened to Titan.

While Navy likely detected implosion Sunday through its acoustics system, underwater sounds heard Tuesday and Wednesday — which initially gave hope for a possible rescue — were probably unrelated to submersible. Navy’s possible clue was t kwn publicly until Thursday, when  Wall Street Journal first reported it.

With a search area covering thousands of miles — twice size of Connecticut and in waters 2 1/2 miles (4 kilometers) deep — rescuers all week rushed ships, planes and or equipment to site of disappearance.

Broadcasters around world started newscasts at critical hour Thursday with news of submersible. Saudi-owned satellite channel Al Arabiya showed a clock on air counting down to ir estimate of when air could potentially run out.

White House thanked U.S. Coast Guard, along with Canadian, British and French partners who helped in search and rescue efforts.

“Our hearts go out to families and loved ones of those who lost ir lives on Titan. y have been through a harrowing ordeal over past few days, and we are keeping m in our thoughts and prayers,” it said in a statement.

Titan launched at 6 a.m. Sunday and was reported overdue that afteron about 435 miles (700 kilometers) south of St. John’s, Newfoundland. By Thursday, when oxygen supply was expected to run out, re was little hope of finding crew alive.

In 2021 and 2022, at least 46 people successfully traveled on OceanGate’s submersible to Titanic site, according to letters company filed with a U.S. District Court in rfolk, Virginia, that oversees matters involving shipwreck. But questions about submersible’s safety were raised by former passengers.

One of company’s first customers likened a dive he made to site two years ago to a suicide mission.

“Imagine a metal tube a few meters long with a sheet of metal for a floor. You can’t stand. You can’t kneel. Everyone is sitting close to or on top of each or,” said Arthur Loibl, a retired businessman and adventurer from Germany. “You can’t be claustrophobic.”

During 2 1/2-hour descent and ascent, lights were turned off to conserve energy, he said, with only illumination coming from a fluorescent glow stick.

dive was repeatedly delayed to fix a problem with battery and balancing weights. In total, voy took 10 1/2 hours.

Nicolai Roterman, a deep-sea ecologist and lecturer in marine biology at University of Portsmouth, England, said disappearance of Titan highlights dangers and unkwns of deep-sea tourism.

“Even most reliable techlogy can fail, and refore accidents will happen,” Roterman said. “With growth in deep-sea tourism, we must expect more incidents like this.”