All Passengers on 'Titanic Tourist Submarine' Dead...Suspected Internal Explosion

It has been confirmed that all five people aboard the submarine 'Titan,' which was used to view the wreckage of the Titanic, have died. The submarine operator OceanGate also announced the death of the passengers in a statement.

Submersible 'Titan'

The U.S. Coast Guard announced on the 22nd (local time) that it had discovered five pieces of debris from the submarine on the seabed 488 meters away from the bow of the Titanic.

Rear Admiral John Mauger estimated, based on the debris, that an explosion occurred inside the submarine. However, Mauger added that it is currently difficult to determine the exact timing of the explosion, whether it happened immediately on the day Titan went missing or afterward.

During the search, underwater noises resembling pounding were detected over two days, leading to speculation that the passengers might have been alive. However, it was revealed that there was no connection between the noises and the Titan.

The Coast Guard stated that it will continue search operations to recover the passengers and the submarine. However, they said it is difficult to confirm the possibility of finding bodies.

The submarine carried Stockton Rush, CEO of the operating company OceanGate Expeditions; British billionaire Hamish Harding; Pakistani billionaire Shajjad Dawood and his son Suleman; and French marine expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet.

On the same day, OceanGate, the operator of the Titan, issued a statement mourning the loss of all passengers, saying, "They were true explorers with outstanding adventurous spirits and a deep passion for marine exploration and conservation."

Earlier, the Titan departed from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, the easternmost part of Canada, on the 16th, and arrived on the morning of the 18th at a point about 1,450 km off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA, where it began its dive. However, communication was lost 1 hour and 45 minutes after the dive began.

The Titan is a 6.7-meter-long submarine made of carbon fiber and titanium, designed to carry one pilot and four passengers down to a depth of 4,000 meters. It is known that the passengers paid $250,000 each to participate in the Titanic wreck exploration.