The pilot and 4 passengers of the Titan submersible are dead, US Coast Guard says

Washington, June 22 (BNA): A missing submarine exploded near the wreckage of the Titanic, killing all five people on board, the US Coast Guard said.

Coast Guard officials said during a news conference Thursday that they had notified the families of the missing crew of the Titan several days ago.

Admiral John Mauger of the 1st Coast Guard District said that the wreckage found during the search for the ship was “consistent with the ship’s catastrophic implosion”.

“The outpouring of support in this very complex search has been greatly appreciated. Our deepest condolences go out to the friends and loved ones of the crew.”

All five people aboard, including company CEO Stockton Rush, are believed to have died, OceanGate Expeditions said in a statement.

OceanGate said in a statement that Rush, Shahzada Dawood, his son Suleiman Daoud, Hamish Harding and Paul Henry Nargolit are “unfortunately missing.”

OceanGate did not provide details of when the company announced the “loss of life” in a statement or how officials knew the crew members had died. Titan’s 96-hour supply of oxygen likely ended early Thursday.

OceanGate has been chronicling the Titanic’s disintegration and the underwater ecosystem around it via annual cruises since 2021.

It’s been estimated that Titan had nearly four days’ worth of breathable air when it launched Sunday morning into the North Atlantic – but experts stressed that this approximation is initially inaccurate and could be extended if passengers take measures to conserve breathable air. . . It is not known if they have survived since the submarine disappeared.

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