The five people on board the Titan sub are believed to have died, the operating company behind the submersible has announced.
In a statement, OceanGate said: "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.
"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."
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It was confirmed earlier today that Suleman Dawood, 19, is a student at Strathclyde University in Glasgow.
His father Shahzada Dawood, thought to live in Surbiton, south-west London, is vice-chairman of Pakistani conglomerate Engro Corporation, and a long-time adviser to the King’s charity Prince’s Trust International, with a focus on its work in Pakistan.
The news comes after the US Coast Guard (USCG) confirmed earlier today that a “debris field” had been discovered within the search area for the missing submersible. It said a remotely-operated vehicle (ROV) made the discovery near the wreckage of the Titanic on Thursday.
The statement from OceanGate added: "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 organisations 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."
At a press conference in Boston, a spokesman for the US Coast Guard said he could not say what the prospects were of recovering the bodies of those killed on the Titan expedition.
Rear Admiral John Mauger told reporters: “This is an incredibly unforgiving environment down there on the sea floor and the debris is consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vessel. And so we’ll continue to work and continue to search the area down there, but I don’t have an answer for prospects at this time.”
Speaking about the debris found, the spokesperson said: “We found five different major pieces of debris that told us that it was the remains of the Titan. The initial thing we found was the nose cone, which was outside of the pressure hull.
“We then found a large debris field, within that debris field we found the front-end bell of the pressure hull. That was the first indication that there was a catastrophic event. Shortly thereafter we found a second smaller debris field. Within that debris field we found the other end of the pressure hull."
Foreign secretary James Cleverly described the suspected deaths of the pilot and four passengers on the missing Titan submersible as “tragic”. He tweeted: “Tragic news that those on the Titan submersible, including three British citizens, have been lost following an international search operation. The UK Government is closely supporting the families affected and expresses our deepest condolences.”
