Titan submersible crew presumed dead, expedition company claims

A US Coast Guard vessel sits in port in Boston Harbor across from the US Coast Guard Station Boston in Boston, Massachusetts. Pic/AFP

The company leading the Titan submersible trip says the five missing crew members are believed to be dead, news agency AP reported.

According to an AP report, OceanGate Expeditions on Thursday says its pilot and chief executive Stockton Rush, along with passengers Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet "have sadly been lost."

OceanGate did not provide details Thursday when the company announced the "loss of life" in a statement or how officials knew the crew members perished. The vessel's 96-hour oxygen supply likely ended early Thursday.

The company has been chronicling the Titanic's decay and the underwater ecosystem around it via yearly voyages since 2021.

According to an ABC news report, on the ‘catastrophic implosion' of Titan submersible, ‘Titanic' director James Cameron said that he is "struck by the similarity of the Titanic disaster itself, where the captain was repeatedly warned about ice ahead of his ship and yet he steamed at full speed into an ice field."

A rescue operation was underway deep in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean on Monday in search of a submersible vessel that carries people to view the wreckage of the Titanic. The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia said the vessel was reported overdue around 9:13 p.m. Sunday, about 435 miles (700 kilometres) south of St. John's, Newfoundland. Lt. Cmdr. Len Hickey said a Canadian Coast Guard vessel and military aircraft were assisting the search effort, which was being led by the US Coast Guard in Boston. OceanGate Expeditions confirmed the search for its five-person submersible and said its focus was on those aboard the vessel and their families. "We are deeply thankful for the extensive assistance we have received from several government agencies and deep sea companies in our efforts to reestablish contact with the submersible," the company said in a statement.

"We are working toward the safe return of the crewmembers." David Concannon, an adviser to the company, said Oceangate lost contact with the submarine Sunday morning. It had a 96-hour oxygen supply, he said in an email to The Associated Press on Monday afternoon. "Now 32 hours since sub left surface," said Concannon, who said he was supposed to be on the dive but could not go due to another client matter. He said officials are working to get a remotely operated vehicle that can reach a depth of 6,000 metres (about 20,000 feet) to the site as soon as possible. Action Aviation confirmed that its company chairman, UK businessman Hamish Harding, was one of the tourists on board. The company's managing director, Mark Butler, told the AP that the crew set out on Friday.

(With AP inputs)

(This is a developing story and will be updated as and when further inputs are received)