With the fate of those on Titanic-bound submersible known, focus turns to cause of fatal implosion

Washington, June 23 (BNA): The search for the missing Titanic submarine has become an investigation and rescue mission that will take an indefinite amount of time, with tributes pouring in from around the world for the five people killed when the ship exploded deep in the North Atlantic, officials said.

The announcement Thursday that all aboard had died when the submarine exploded near the site of the iconic shipwreck brought a tragic end to a five-day odyssey that involved a round-the-clock search and global vigil for the ship known as the Titan.

The investigation into what happened is already underway and will continue in the area around the Titanic where debris from the submarine was found, Admiral John Mauger of the 1st Coast Guard said.

Those killed were Stockton Rush, CEO of OceanGate Expeditions, the company that owns and operates the submarine. two members of a prominent Pakistani family, Shehzada Daoud and his son, Suleiman Daoud; British adventurer Hamish Harding; and Titanic expert Paul Henri Nargolet, The Associated Press reports.

OceanGate, which has been chronicling the Titanic’s decay and the underwater ecosystem around it via annual trips since 2021 that include paying tourists, issued a statement calling all five people killed “true explorers who shared an outstanding spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploration and protection of the world’s oceans.”

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