All 5 passengers on missing sub Titan dead after ‘catastrophic implosion’

After days of extensive search in the North Atlantic Ocean, the U.S. Coast Guards have declared the five passengers of the missing Titan submersible dead following a “catastrophic implosion.”

The vessel disappeared on Sunday during a dive to see the remains of the Titanic, the passenger ocean-liner that sank in 1912 and was found in 1987 near the United States.

– Catastrophic

U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. John Mauger announced at a press conference that five major pieces of debris had been found on the seafloor about 1,600 feet from the site of the Titanic. He said the finding was “consistent with the catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber.”

Later, OceanGate, the company running the expedition, announced that the five passengers “have sadly been lost.”

“These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans,” it said in statement.

“Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time.”

– Learn more

The 21-foot tourist vessel went missing approximately 1,500km off the U.S. coast, prompting an extensive search operation to locate the boat and its occupants before they ran out of oxygen supply.

The Titan, which carried a 96-hour air reserve, was anticipated to exhaust its breathable air by Thursday morning. The occupants would have been unable to open the door of the vessel themselves as it was bolted shut from the outside, making it difficult for them to reach the surface even if they managed to do so.

The U.S. Coast Guard said he could not confirm whether the bodies can be recovered, saying it is an “incredibly unforgiving environment”.