“Catastrophic Implosion” Led to the Death of Five Aboard Titan Submersible

US June 23-All the five passengers aboard a submersible visiting the wreck of the Titanic were killed after the vessel suffered a “catastrophic implosion” in the ocean depths.
Rear Admiral John Mauger on Thursday June 22 said in Boston that analysis showed debris found on the seafloor 500 metres (1,600 feet) from the bow of the Titanic was consistent with the implosion of the sub’s pressure chamber.

The submersible was descending to explore the world’s most famous wreckage of the luxury liner, located 900 miles east of Cape Cod and about 13,000 feet below sea level.
The remotely operated vehicle found “five different major pieces of debris” from the Titan submersible, according to Paul Hankins, the US Navy’s director of salvage operations and ocean engineering.
The debris was “consistent with the catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber” and, in turn, a “catastrophic implosion,” he said.

The remotely operated vehicles will remain on the scene and continue to gather information, with Mauger saying it will take time to determine a specific timeline of events in the incredibly complex case of the Titan’s failure.

The deceased persons are British businessman Hamish Harding, French submarine expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Pakistani-British tycoon Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, and Stockton Rush, CEO of the sub’s operator OceanGate Expeditions.

Harding 58, was a British aviation tycoon with three Guinness World Records and has been described by his family as a “passionate explorer”. The billionaire father of two was the owner of Action Aviation which buys and sells aircraft with offices in Dubai and London’s Stansted airport.

He was previously based in the Indian city of Bengaluru for five years as managing director of a logistics company before establishing Action Aviation in 2004. His Guinness records are for longest duration and distance traversed at full ocean depth by a crewed vessel, and the fastest circumnavigation via both poles by plane.

The family of Nargeolet, a French diver, said he would be remembered as one of the greatest deep-sea explorers in modern history.Both Nargeolet and Harding were members of The Explorers Club.
Engro Corporation Limited, where Dawood was vice chairman, also issued a statement on the deaths of Dawood and his son Suleman.