06/23/2023 06:29 (act. 06/23/2023 07:15)
Admiral John Mauger speaks of a “catastrophic loss”. ©Getty Images, AP
After days of feverish search for the mini-submarine “Titan” with five people on board that disappeared in the North Atlantic, a sad certainty prevails.
The US Coast Guard said on Thursday after debris was found near the wreckage of the Titanic that the private submarine had been destroyed by a “catastrophic implosion”. Thus, all five people on board the “Titan” died. According to a report, the US Navy recorded the implosion on Sunday.
“Catastrophic Loss”
Admiral John Mauger of the United States Coast Guard spoke at a news conference in Boston about the “catastrophic loss” of the mini-sub. “I offer my sincere condolences to the families,” added the Coast Guard regional chief. After days of uncertainty for the families, he expressed his hope “that this discovery will offer them some comfort in this difficult time”.
Shortly before, the operator Oceangate Expeditions had declared that it was assuming the death of the occupants of the “Titan”. On board the mini-sub were Oceangate Expeditions boss Stockton Rush, British businessman and adventurer Hamish Harding, British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman, and French Titanic expert Paul-Henry Nargeolet.
SHOVEL
anomaly detected
The “Titan” left on Sunday for a tourist diving trip to the wreck of the “Titanic” that sank in 1912 to a depth of about 3,800 meters. After an hour and a half, contact with the escort ship was broken and since then there has been no trace of the approximately 6.5 meter long submarine.
As first reported by the Wall Street Journal, a Navy acoustic underwater detection system was supposed to have recorded the implosion on Sunday. “The US Navy was conducting an analysis of the acoustic data and discovered an anomaly attributable to an implosion or explosion in the vicinity of the Titan submersible operating site when communications were lost,” a spokesperson told ABC. An implosion is the destruction of a hollow body by external pressure and is therefore the opposite of an explosion.
500 meters from the Titanic
On Thursday, the US Coast Guard announced the discovery of a “debris field” near the wreckage of the “Titanic”. She has now confirmed that it was debris from the “Titan”. The wreck was about 500 meters from the wreckage of the “Titanic” on the sea floor.
In recent days, emergency services have been looking for the “Titan” from the air and with ships under high pressure. There was hope that despite the tremendous water pressure in the depths of the ocean, the submersible would not be damaged and the occupants would still be alive.
knocking noises
However, it was clear from the start that there was little time left for a search. Even if the submersible had been intact, the oxygen supply would have only lasted 96 hours. Theoretically, the oxygen would have run out during Thursday.
In the meantime, the location of underwater crashing noises has given new hope. However, it was not clear where the noises recorded on Tuesday came from.
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For the rescue operation, several ships with diving robots and other special equipment rushed to the huge search area, which is located almost 650 kilometers from the coast of the Canadian province of Newfoundland. More recently, nine ships were in the region.
“Tragic News”
The death of the mini-submarine’s five occupants caused consternation. US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas expressed his condolences to the relatives and thanked the US Coast Guard and partners involved in the search for their efforts. British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly spoke on Twitter of the “tragic news” and also offered his condolences to the families of those killed.
Operator Oceangate said the five men on board were “true explorers” with “a special spirit of adventure and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans”. We are sorry and our hearts go out to the relatives, she said. It is also an “extremely sad moment” for employees.