Titanic Sub Passengers Believed to Be Dead Due to “Catastrophic Implosion” of the Vessel, Says US Coast Guard

The five men aboard the missing Titanic sub are believed to be dead following an urgent race to recover the 22-foot vessel and its passengers, the company that operates the submersible said in a statement.

OceanGate, the company that led the mission, said Thursday that 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.”

“This is a very sad time for the entire explorer community, and for each of the family members of those lost at sea,” the company wrote.

In a press conference minutes later, Rear Admiral John Mauger of the U.S. Coast Guard said that debris from the Titian sub was found 1,600 feet from the Titanic wreckage that is “consistent with catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber” in the submersible.

“This is a incredibly unforgiving environment down there on the sea floor and the debris is consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vessel,” Coast Guard Rear Adm. John Mauger told reporters when asked if

The 22-foot vessel launched into the Atlantic Ocean from a Canadian research vessel Sunday morning. It lost communication with the Titan an hour and 45 minutes into the dive. Previously, officials had mentioned that the submarine had a limited oxygen supply. This supply would have been sufficient for approximately 96 hours, which was roughly until Thursday morning.