Submarine Debris Found 488 Meters from the Wreckage of the Titanic, 5 Passengers Confirmed Dead

Dream - US Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger said the rescue team has found the missing debris of the Titan submarine during an expedition tour to the Titanic wreck. They concluded that five passengers died.

The submarine debris, Mauger said, was found 1,600 feet or 488 meters from the wreckage of the Titanic. "The submarine experienced a massive explosion," he said, quoted from Reuters, Friday, June 23, 2023.

The Titan submarine, operated by OceanGate Expeditions, began its descent at 8:00 a.m. on Sunday, June 18, 2023.

The submarine lost contact with its surface support vessel after diving for two hours to the location of the world's most famous shipwreck.

Search efforts were made. The US Coast Guard reported on Wednesday that a Canadian search aircraft had recorded underwater sounds using sonar buoys.

The US Coast Guard team immediately deployed remotely operated underwater vehicles around the detected sound locations, but without success.

Concerns grew as the searchers raced against time, realizing that the passengers, if they were still alive, would face dwindling oxygen supplies.

The French research vessel Atalante was also deployed. They deployed a diving robot capable of descending to the Titanic wreckage, and eventually, the debris of the Titan was found.

Five main fragments of the Titan, measuring 6.7 meters in length, were located in the field of debris remaining from its destruction, including the ship's tail cone and two pressure hull sections. It is not mentioned whether human remains were found.

"The debris here is consistent with the vehicle's massive explosion," said Mauger.

OceanGate issued a statement that there were no survivors among the five people on the Titan, including the founder and CEO of the company, Stockton Rush, who piloted the Titan.

The other four were British billionaire and explorer Hamish Harding (58), Pakistani-born businessman Shahzada Dawood (48) and his 19-year-old son Suleman, both British citizens, and French marine expert and renowned Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet (77) who had visited the shipwreck dozens of times.

"These individuals are true explorers with a different spirit of adventure and a deep passion to explore and protect the world's oceans," the company said.