2023-06-22 16:52:33
The 5 crew members of the Titan submersible that took tourists to see the remains of the Titanic died, reported the US Coast Guard. Remains of the ship were found.
All five people aboard a missing sub have died in a “catastrophic” event, US Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger said Thursday, ending a massive search since the ship was lost during a voyage. to the wreckage of the Titanic.
“It’s a tough day for all of us and it’s a tough day for families,” Mauger said in exchange with reporters, adding that the event “was a catastrophic implosion.”
Mauger reported at a press conference that the remains found near the Titanic during search tasks belong to the submersible that disappeared last Sunday.
“These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans,” OceanGate Expeditions said in a statement.
OceanGate Expeditions had announced in a statement that “we have sadly lost them,” referring to their pilot and CEO Stockton Rush, along with passengers Shahzada Dawood and her son Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet.
Also read Rescuers make last ditch effort in last hours of oxygen from missing submersible
Paul Hawkins, an expert invited to the press conference, added that they found five important pieces of wreckage from the ship.
“We found the bow cone, then a vast area of debris, and found the front of the pressurized chamber,” he said.
The search for the submersible on Thursday exceeded the 96-hour limit that was estimated to last for breathable air in the boat.
FILE PHOTO: The submersible Titan, operated by OceanGate Expeditions to explore the remains of the Titanic. (Ocean Gate Expeditions/via REUTERS)
The Titan carried breathable air for regarding four days when it set sail around 6:00 am Sunday in the North Atlantic.
Also read Special teams from various countries unite in search of Titanic submarine
Rescuers sent more boats, planes and other equipment to the area of the disappearance, and the US Coast Guard said on Thursday that an underwater robot sent by a Canadian ship had reached the seabed, while a French research institute reported that a Deep-diving robot equipped with cameras, lights and arms also joined the search.
The pilot of a Royal Canadian Air Force CP-140 Aurora maritime surveillance aircraft flies a search pattern for the missing OceanGate submersible, June 20, 2023 in a still image from video. (Canadian Forces/via REUTERS)
The authorities had reported on Tuesday sounds detected under the sea. The search had expanded to an area twice the size of Connecticut and in areas as deep as 13,200 feet (4,020 meters).
Also read Noise detected in frantic search for missing submersible near Titanic
Jamie Pringle, a forensic geosciences expert at Keele University in England, said that even though the noises were coming from the submersible, the lack of oxygen was key.
Satellite image of ships involved in search and rescue operations associated with the missing Titan submersible near the wreckage of the Titanic on June 22, 2023. Maxar Technologies, via Archyde.com.
The Titan was reported missing Sunday followingnoon regarding 435 miles (700 kilometers) south of St. John, Newfoundland, as it headed for the resting place of the iconic cruise ship that sunk more than a century ago. OceanGate Expeditions, an underwater exploration company, documents the deterioration of the wreck and the underwater ecosystem that has flourished at the site with annual voyages since 2021.
By Thursday morning, the hope of finding the crew of the submersible alive was running out.
Also read What is known regarding the submersible that disappeared when it went to the Titanic with 5 crew members
The operation faced many obstacles: Not only locating the submersible, but also reaching it with rescue equipment and bringing it to the surface, assuming it was still intact. And all this had to happen before the passengers’ oxygen ran out.
Dr Rob Larter, a marine geophysicist with the British Antarctic Survey, stressed the difficulty of finding anything the size of the ship, which is regarding 22 feet (6.5 meters) long and almost 9 feet (3 meters) high.
“We are talking regarding completely dark environments” in which an object a few meters away can go unnoticed, he said. “It’s a needle in a haystack situation unless you have a very precise location.”
Meanwhile, significant warnings regarding the safety of the vehicle were expressed during the development of the submersible.
Media from around the world reported on Thursday regarding the arrival of the critical hour for the submersible. Saudi satellite television Al Arabiya displayed a clock on its image counting down when they estimated the air inside the Titan might run out.
Capt. Jamie Frederick of the Coast Guard First District said Wednesday that authorities still had hope of saving the five crew members.
“This is 100% a search and rescue mission,” he said.
Frederick said that while the detected sounds offered the possibility of narrowing the search area, their exact location and source had yet to be determined.
“We don’t know what they are, to be frank,” he said.
The report was encouraging to some experts because submarine crews that cannot communicate with the surface are taught to hit the hull of their ships to be detected by sonar.
On board the Titan was the pilot Stockton Rush, general director of the organizing company of the expedition, OceanGate. His passengers were British adventurer Hamish Harding, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, his son Sulemany, and French explorer and Titanic expert Paul-Henry Nargeolet.
At least 46 people successfully traveled on the OceanGate submersible to the wreckage of the liner in 2021 and 2022, according to company letters forwarded to a federal district court in Norfolk, Virginia, which oversees matters over the wreck.
“I offer my deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of Titan’s passengers and crew during this incredibly difficult time,” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a message.
[Con información de The Associated Press y Archyde.com]
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