‘Our hearts are broken’: Family of French Titanic experts pay heartfelt tribute to ‘one of the greatest deep-sea explorers’ following the deaths of the Titanic Five
- Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77, was part of the first human expedition to visit the Titanic wreck in 1987 and has visited it at least 35 times
- He was among five people aboard the doomed OceanGate expedition who visited the wreck on Sunday
- The deaths of everyone on board were confirmed Thursday: Nargeolet’s family paid tribute to his life and legacy; his sense of humor and “his big heart”
The family of the French Titanic expert who died in the OceanGate disaster paid tribute to his life’s work, fondly remembering his sense of humor and “big heart”.
It was confirmed on Thursday that Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77, died in the tragedy along with OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, 61; British billionaire explorer Hamish Harding, 58; and Pakistani father and son Shahzada Dawood, 48; and Suleman Dawood, 19.
Nargeolet — commonly known as PH — was part of the first human expedition to visit the Titanic wreck in 1987 and had visited the site at least 35 times.
Nargeolet’s family was joined by relatives of the other four, all of whom praised their curiosity and sense of adventure.
The Nargeolet family said: “Our hearts are broken at the loss of our extraordinary father and husband.”
“He is a man who will be remembered as one of the greatest deep-sea explorers in modern history.” When you think of the Titanic and everything we know about the ship today, you think of Paul-Henri Nargeolet and his legendary work think.
“But what will remind us of him most is his big heart, his incredible sense of humor and how much he loved his family.” “We will miss him today and every day for the rest of our lives.”
The family of French naval veteran PH Nargeolet on Thursday paid tribute to the 77-year-old’s “legendary work”.
Nargeolet is on display with a replica of the Titanic wreck at a Paris exhibition in May 2013
The Nargeolet family also thanked everyone involved in the search and rescue effort.
Born in the French Alps in the ski resort of Chamonix, Nargeolet was married to former New York news anchor Michele Marsh. She died of breast cancer in 2017 at the age of 63.
From 1964 to 1986 he held various positions in the French Navy – notably as commander, submarine pilot, ship’s captain, clearance diver and deep sea diver.
He retired from the Navy and joined the French Institute for Research and Exploitation of the Sea (IFREMER) where he was in charge of the deep-sea submersibles Nautile and Cyana.
During his time at IFREMER he led the first salvage expedition to the Titanic in 1987.
Nargeolet moved to the United States and became involved in Titanic research. He oversaw the recovery of 5,000 artifacts – including the recovery of a 20-ton section of Titanic’s hull, now on display in Las Vegas.
He lived in Kent, Connecticut for a long time before moving to Dutchess County, New York.
Nargeolet leaves behind a wife and three children, as well as his stepson, John Paschall.
The company OceanGate, which organized the doomed expedition, also paid tribute to the people on board.
The Washington-based company was founded in 2009 by aerospace engineer and entrepreneur Stockton Rush. He was among those who died.
“These men were true explorers who shared a strong spirit of adventure and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans,” OceanGate said in a statement.