The five passengers aboard the submersible headed to explore the Titanic are believed to be dead, the vessel's founding company and other officials said Thursday, June 22.
Accompanied by a number of ocean specialists, First Coast Guard District commander Rear Adm. John Mauger said during a press conference on June 22 that debris was found on the ocean floor that was “consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vessel.” An expert at the conference, Paul Hanken, said five significant pieces were found, including the submersible’s nose cone.
Carl Hartsfield from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution said the implosion did not appear to be near the Titanic, disproving theories that the submersible was caught in the ship’s wreckage.
“It’s in an area where there’s not any debris of the Titanic, it is a smooth bottom,” he said. “To my knowledge...there’s no Titanic wreckage in that area and again 200 plus meters from the bow, and consistent with the location of last communication for an implosion in the water column.” It was unclear in Thursday’s press conference if there would be any attempts to recover the bodies.
In a June 22 statement issued to NBC News, a representative for the company described the loss of the five passengers as a being a "sad day" for its team.
"We now believe that our CEO Stockton Rush, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet, have sadly been lost," the statement reads in part.
"These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans. Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time. We grieve the loss of life and joy they brought to everyone they knew."
The statement went on to describe the extent of its search for the company's missing CEO and other passengers.
"This is an extremely sad time for our dedicated employees, who are exhausted and grieving deeply over this loss. The entire OceanGate family is deeply grateful for the countless men and women from multiple organizations of the international community who expedited wide-ranging resources and have worked so very hard on this mission. We appreciate their commitment to finding these five explorers, and their days and nights of tireless work in support of our crew and their families.
"This is a very sad time for the entire explorer community and for each of the family members of those lost at sea. We respectfully ask that the privacy of these families be respected during this most painful time."
Earlier in the day on June 22, the Coast Guard said it had discovered a “debris field” within the search area in a statement shared on Twitter.
“A debris field was discovered within the search area by an ROV near the Titanic," the statement said.
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