Rescuers have found “five large” parts of the Titan submersible that had suffered a “catastrophic implosion” 1,600 feet from Titanic’s bow, killing all five on board.
A remote-controlled vehicle from the Canadian ship Horizon Arctic found a debris field on the seabed that included parts of the tail cone and landing frame.
Authorities later said they learned that among the parts discovered were the fore and aft ends of the pressure hull, where was the porthole window that one of the doomed passengers would have been looking out of when the ship imploded.
Former Royal Navy commander Ryan Ramsey said the debris would allow experts to analyze the fracture structure and potentially “consolidate what actually happened in those final moments”.
All five on board – including British explorer Hamish Harding, British businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman – would have died instantly, never knowing there was a problem, naval experts say.
Rear Admiral John Mauger, who led the search, said the parts found in the debris field were “consistent with a catastrophic loss of the hyperbaric chamber.”
Graphic shows Titan submersible parts found after ‘catastrophic implosion’
19-year-old college student Suleman (left) and his father Shahzada Dawood (right) were two of the five victims who died instantly when the OceanGate submersible suffered a “catastrophic implosion.”
British explorer Hamish Harding was among those killed in ‘catastrophic implosion’
French Navy veteran PH Nargeolet (left) was in the submarine with Stockton Rush (right), CEO of OceanGate Expedition
The somber announcement ended a multinational search and rescue operation that had the world in a frenzy since the tiny tourist boat disappeared in the North Atlantic on Sunday.
Cdr Ramsey, who served in the Royal Navy’s submarine service for 23 years, said the parts of the Titan that were discovered would help figure out what happened to the submarine.
Ramsey compared the current investigation to an investigation into a crashed plane and told the BBC: “There is no black box so you won’t be able to follow the latest movements of the ship yourself.”
“But as many parts of the ship as possible to get them back to the surface and from them they should be able to analyze the fracture structure and any fractures that have occurred and maybe summarize what has happened in the last few.” actually happened.’ Moments.’
The debris will be examined under a microscope and experts will try to find any breaks in the carbon fiber structure, which could help them pinpoint the exact spot where the break occurred.
Professor Roderick Smith of Imperial College London said the sheer force of the “catastrophic implosion” meant it could be difficult to time a timetable for what happened.
“Therefore there is a need for salvage and careful investigation if possible,” he said.
Bobby Chacon, a retired FBI special agent and former head of the FBI’s dive team, told CNN it’s impossible to know what happened “unless you salvage most of the ship.” He said a remote-controlled vehicle might be able to bring more parts of the submersible upstairs.
“The sooner they do that, the better, because the ocean is always changing things.” “The tides, currents and sea pressure are moving things,” he said.
Search and rescue workers believe the five men likely died on Sunday, before military planes using sonar buoys detected what they thought could be SOS booms in the water.
“The implosion would have produced a distinct, broadband noise that the sonar buoys would have picked up,” US Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger said at a news conference yesterday.
It would have been an instant death for the men, some of whom had paid £195,000 (US$250,000) each to see the famous shipwreck.
Aileen Marty, a former naval officer and professor at Florida International University, said the implosion occurred at a speed of 1,500 miles per hour.
“It takes more than that — it takes about 0.25 more — for the human brain to even realize it was happening.” “So the whole thing would have collapsed before the people in it even realized there was a problem,” Mr Marty told CNN.
“They died in a way they didn’t even know they were going to die.” “Ultimately, among the many ways we go, that’s painless.”
The tiny ship that carried the crew was protected by a hyperbaric chamber, a sealed capsule whose internal pressure is well above ambient pressure, a gas system to control the internal pressure, and a breathing gas supply for the occupants.
dr Dale Molé, the former director of underwater medicine and radiation health for the US Navy, said, “The pressure hull is the chamber that the occupants stay in.” It sounds like they reached the bottom when the pressure vessel imploded, and usually when he gives in, he gives in at once.
“It sounds like it was the carbon fiber cylinder that gave way and led to the implosion.”
How the pressure chamber was breached remains unclear. However, such an implosion could be due to a leak, a power outage, or a small fire due to an electrical short.
The result would have been a violent and instantaneous implosion as the highly pressurized water rushed in from outside, ripping away the rear cover and landing frame, ripping apart the submarine’s hull and crushing those inside.
dr Molé said: “They would have been torn to pieces.”
“An implosion is when the pressure wave is directed inward, whereas an explosion is when the pressure wave or shock wave emanates from whatever source arises.”
He explained it like over-inflating a balloon — the balloon will eventually burst if too much pressure is applied.
The opposite happens in an implosion: if there is more pressure on the outside than the container can handle, the inside collapses.
dr Molé said, “If someone stood on an empty soda can, it would support your weight, but if you then pressed on the sides, the can would immediately collapse.”
He added, “It’s just where the debris and fragments and everything else is rushing inward due to some strong external force.” In this case, it was the sea.
“At least at Titanic’s depth, which is 12,500 feet, the external pressure would be 6,000 pounds per square inch. It is this pressure that, if there were a weak point in the hull, would cause the hull to collapse and suddenly create a shock wave. “An implosion can be just as destructive as an explosion.”
OceanGate, which has documented the decay of the Titanic and the underwater ecosystem surrounding it on annual voyages since 2021, released a statement in which it described all five men killed as “true explorers” who have a strong spirit of adventure and a deep passion for exploration and the… Protection of the World Divided Oceans’.
It turns out that 19-year-old Suleman, who died in the tragic “implosion,” was “very scared” about the trip and only joined the crew to bring joy to his dead on Father’s Day.
His heartbroken aunt, Azmeh Dawood, told NBC News that Suleman told a relative that he “didn’t feel like it very much” but felt compelled to please his father, who was deeply interested in the 1912 shipwreck.
The older sister of Mr. Dawood, vice chairman of Engro Corporation, reportedly said through tears, ‘I am in disbelief.’ It is an unreal situation.’
Azmeh, who like the other worried relatives was hoping for a miracle, continued, “I feel like I’m trapped in a really bad movie, with a countdown, but you didn’t know what countdown you were counting down to.”
She said she “personally found it hard to breathe just thinking about her,” adding, “It was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.”