OceanGate submarine that imploded during the expedition. Photo credit: Disclosure

The tragedy common to the story of the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 and the implosion of the submarine Titan, which left on a tourist expedition to the wreckage of the ship last Sunday (18), hides another similar factor: recklessness . Just as Captain Edward John Smith ignored information about the presence of an iceberg on the route and took the famous ship to the wreck, OceanGate Expeditions management was warned more than once about the “catastrophic” safety issues on the submersible and, despite this, kept going .

A report by the company’s thendirector of maritime operations, suggesting that passenger lives could be at risk if the prototype reached “extreme depths,” was ignored, even costing him his resignation. According to the Associated Press, David Lochridge’s verbal warnings were also ignored. He warned his superiors that flaws in the Titan’s carbon fiber hull could go unnoticed without more rigorous testing.

The wreck of the Titanic lies at a depth of 3,800 meters, in an area of ​​the ocean known as the “midnight zone” because it is so deep that it does not receive sunlight. The company stated that the Titan could descend to a depth of 4,000 meters, but David disagreed, stating that the viewing window only allowed a descent of 1,300 meters.

Infographic shows details of Titan submarine. Photo credits: Quintino Andrade/ Arte CORREIO*

The cause of the implosion is not yet known, nor how the investigation will proceed, as there are no logs of such cases involving a submersible. US Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger said the governments of the countries involved in the incident are meeting to discuss how this investigation should be conducted.

Among the passengers were two Pakistanis, one British, one American and one French. The cost of a ticket for a seat on the submarine is $250,000, which is R$1.2 million at current prices.

Expeditions to unusual places have become increasingly common among the superrich. Businessman and explorer Hamish Harding, one of the victims of the implosion, had taken part in the flight into suborbital space in 2022 with Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’ company. This trip cost about 6 million R$. Harding’s social networks bring pictures of several adventures involving planes, missiles and ships.

Stockton Rush, 61, is the submersible pilot and founder and CEO of OceanGate. The company was founded in 2009 and has conducted additional dives on the wreck of the Titanic over the past two years. In total there have been more than 12 underwater expeditions since 2010. According to his biography on the company’s website, Rush became the world’s youngest jet transport pilot in 1981 at the age of 19.

PaulHenry Nargeolet is a 77yearold retired French Navy commander. He is the head of underwater research for a media and exhibition company with which he is affiliated. As an expert on the sinking of the ship, he assisted his friend and Canadian filmmaker James Cameron in the 1997 film Titanic.

Incidentally, James was shocked by the news and spoke about how similar the accidents were. “I am struck by the resemblance to the Titanic disaster itself, where the captain was repeatedly warned of ice ahead of his ship and yet he sailed at full speed across an ice field on a moonless night and many died as a result.” It’s a very similar tragedy in the exact same place.”

After all, the last two crew members are part of one of Pakistan’s most important entrepreneurial families in the industrial sector. Businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48, was dating his son Suleman, just 19.

The billionaire sat on several charitable boards, including those associated with King Charles III. of Great Britain. According to a family statement, their son loved science fiction books and also played volleyball. Although he was interested in the subject, he was afraid to join the expedition, and only to please his father because, according to his aunt, he had fallen in love with the story of Titanic.

“I have a feeling you got into a really bad countdown movie, but you didn’t know what to expect. Personally, it’s kind of hard for me to breathe when I think about her,” Azmeh Dawood told NBC.

Meet the victims of the tragedy:

Stockton Rush Managing Director and cofounder of OceanGate, a company that operates liveaboards for offshore exploration and tourism.

Hamish Harding Billionaire, President of Action Aviation, a company specializing in aerospace services. You have traveled into space.

Paul Henry Nargeolet Former commander of the French Navy and considered the leading expert on the sinking of the Titanic.

Shahzada Dawood Vice President of Engro Corporation, one of the largest conglomerates in Pakistan investing in multiple sectors.

Suleman Dawood Filho The Pakistani tycoon was only 19 years old and, according to his aunt, was very scared and did not want to go down with the submarine.

The mother of the 15-year-old boy who sank in the Ashuapmushuan River near Saint-Félicien on Thursday is in excruciating pain and is crying from the bottom of her heart.

“Be careful and don’t take any chances. An accident happened so quickly. Even the best swimmer in the world wouldn’t have gotten out of it,” says Isabelle Lamarche, shocked by the recent events.

When she returned from work on Thursday, the mother of the family had little idea that it would be the last time she saw her 15-year-old son, Meryl Gagnon, alive.

Credit: Isabelle Lamarche

It wasn’t until she received a visit from the police around 4pm that she found out her son’s simple outing with friends had finally taken a dramatic turn worthy of a horror film.

Then he was swept away by the river. Divers from Sûreté du Québec then found his body around 10:30 p.m.

“As a parent, that’s the last thing you want to hear. It was quite a shock and I felt like a ton of bricks,” she says, stifling a sob.

“Wear your heart on your sleeve”

Also through social networks, the young man received a wave of love. Many will remember him as a courageous, ambitious and selfless young man.

His relatives also emphasized that they will keep this picture of him forever.

“He was a little guy who was 100% alive. He had such a big heart, he would have done anything for those he loved,” says his big sister Mary-Soleil Gagnon with great admiration.

Credit: Mary Soleil Gagnon

The young man must have thought of the others until the end, heroically sacrificing himself when he pushed back his friend, who was also sinking in the water and wanted to help him.

“Meryl has always been like this. He always helped others first before helping himself. He always had his heart on his sleeve,” adds his mother, before she bursts into tears.

A close relationship

As his sister explains, the teenager had a very close relationship with his mother, which she even called inexplicable.

“It was more than a simple mother-son relationship, it was a merger. Meryl had great love and admiration for my mother,” she said.

The two had only recently started working together. The relationship, therefore, only grew when his mother was “so proud of him and what he became.”

“He was a boy with so much potential. We worked together every day and I trained him for his new job. We had just gotten home from work when the tragedy happened,” his mother says.

She also hopes that measures will be taken to restrict access to the event location so that nightmarish stories like this never happen again.

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A bridge crossing the Yellowstone River in Montana collapsed this Saturday morning when a freight train that fell into the water carrying hazardous substances passed by. Authorities have closed downstream drinking water intakes while assessing the risk of the accident.

According to an initial assessment, of the cars that fell in the water, four contained molten sulfur and another three contained molten asphalt, materials that solidify quickly when exposed to cooler temperatures, according to the railroad company Montana Rail Link (MRL).

The train also had two carriages of sodium hydrosulphate, but neither fell into the water, the company said. An initial air quality assessment has confirmed that there are no leaks in either of these wagons.

Some of the cars that fell when the bridge over the Yellowstone River collapsed. Matthew Brown (AP)

“The current objective of the operation is to safely respond to the emergency, control all leaks and mitigate the impact. Throughout the response, MRL will work with local, state and federal partners to assess impacts on natural resources and develop appropriate cleanup, disposal and restoration responses.

The derailment has resulted in portions of the Yellowstone and Stillwater rivers being closed at the request of Stillwater County authorities. as reported by the Montana Forest Service. The river is closed to navigation, bathing and fishing and there are areas on alert “for possible contact with pollutants”.

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“I am closely monitoring the Stillwater County train derailment and the state stands ready to assist while Montana Rail Link and county officials assess their needs.” Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte tweeted.

“We are committed to addressing any potential impact of this incident in the region and working to understand the reasons behind the accident,” a company spokesman said in a statement reported by local media.

The bridge collapse also ruptured a fiber optic cable that provides internet service to many customers in the state, high-speed provider Global Net reported.

The derailment happened about 175 kilometers northeast of the park in a sparsely populated area. Railroad personnel were at the crash site near the town of Columbus, about 40 miles west of Billings. The river had swollen from recent heavy rains, but it’s unclear if this contributed to the collapse of the bridge. In 2022, the Yellowstone River experienced record flooding, causing extensive damage to Yellowstone National Park and nearby Montana cities.

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