11 Oct 2023

Remaining debris from destroyed Titan sub found on Atlantic seabed

3:40 pm on 11 October 2023

By Mike Wendling, BBC News

This undated image courtesy of OceanGate Expeditions, shows their Titan submersible beginning a descent. Rescue teams expanded their search underwater on June 20, 2023, as they raced against time to find a Titan deep-diving tourist submersible that went missing near the wreck of the Titanic with five people on board and limited oxygen. All communication was lost with the 21-foot (6.5-meter) Titan craft during a descent June 18 to the Titanic, which sits at a depth of crushing pressure more than two miles (nearly four kilometers) below the surface of the North Atlantic. (Photo by Handout / OceanGate Expeditions / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / OceanGate Expeditions" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

The Titan submersible imploded during a trip to visit the Titanic killing all five passengers who were on board. Photo: AFP / OceanGate Expeditions

Engineers have recovered the rest of the debris and presumed human remains from the Titan submersible which imploded on an ill-fated trip to the Titanic, the US Coast Guard says.

The craft was destroyed during a dive to the shipwreck in June.

All five passengers on board were killed.

The search for the sub sparked an international hunt and gripped public attention until the first debris was found several days later.

Coast Guard officials said on Tuesday that the additional parts of the craft were recovered from the sea floor last week and taken to a US port. Medical officials will analyse the human remains.

Although the Titan submersible was described as "experimental" by OceanGate - the company that built it - the sub made several dives to the Titanic wreck, which lies 3800m (12,467ft) below sea level in the North Atlantic Ocean.

The company's chief executive, Stockton Rush, was aboard the doomed vessel, which imploded under the intense pressure of the water.

The other four passengers who died on board were: British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48; his son Suleman, 19; British businessman Hamish Harding, 58; and Paul-Henry Nargeolet, 77, a former French navy diver.

US court documents uncovered after the implosion indicated that Rush ignored safety warnings about the submersible. OceanGate, which organised dives in locations around the world, suspended all operations after the disaster.

The hull of the Titan was made from carbon fibre, with titanium end plates and a small window at one end. Carbon fibre is cheaper than titanium or steel and is extremely strong, but it is a largely untested and unusual material for deep sea dives with human passengers.

An international investigation into the disaster continues, and the Coast Guard said a public hearing will be held at a future date.

- This story was first published on the BBC

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