A family friend of a British billionaire who perished in the tragic implosion of the Titan last week has shared her desperate efforts to help in the failed rescue of the submersible’s crew.
Several investigations by international maritime agencies have been launched to determine the potential malfunctions that led to the deaths of OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, British pilot Hamish Harding, renowned French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet and Pakistani businessman Shahzeda Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman.
Before hopes of a miracle rescue were dashed when debris from the Titan was found 1,600ft from the bow of the Titanic on 22 June, the US Coast Guard had led a frantic four-day search for the missing crew with help from American, Canadian and French deep-sea robots and ships. The agency had warned before the tragic developments that even if the sub was located, there was no guarantee that a rescue operation would be successful due to the conditions on the ocean floor.
Tracy Ryan, a close friend of Harding’s wife Linda, has now revealed that she was “working behind the scenes” trying to get a remote-operated submarine capable of reaching the Titanic wreck to join the search for the doomed Titan.
“When I heard it was Hamish my heart dropped to my stomach,” Ms Ryan told People, in an exclusive interview. “I had been working behind the scenes for four days to get the Magellan sub there and get their permits approved because they did have the capabilities to dive all the way down to the site.”
“I had been working behind the scenes for four days to get the Magellan sub there and get their permits approved because they did have the capabilities to dive all the way down to the site,” Ms Ryan added. “And I actually brought a United States congressman in to work with the Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard trying to get them clearance.”
Hamish Harding was one of five people killed on the Titan submersible (Action Aviation/PA)— (PA Media)
Ms Ryan said her friend was extremely overwhelmed at the prospect of her husband being trapped in such a confined space roughly 12,000ft below the ocean’s surface.
“She has such a beautiful soul,” Ms Ryan said of Ms Harding. “I loved watching her and Hamish’s life and all these exciting adventures they get to go on.”
“I’ve just really looked up to this man and this family as a whole for a long time since I met them.”
Ms Ryan said she tried to get California Representative Eric Swalwell to help her convince the US Coast Guard to release the Magellan.
“He responded to me within like 60 seconds,” Ms Ryan recounted. “For two days he was on the phone with these guys trying to get the Magellan deployed ... And I had been, you know, messaging all this back and forth with Linda the whole time.”
The Magellan didn’t get clearance to be released, according to People.
Debris from the Titan submersible, recovered from the ocean floor near the wreck of the Titanic, is unloaded
“This was really more of an effort for me to try and help the family get answers faster. Because the banging in the water that was happening every 30 minutes was giving them so much hope,” Ms Ryan said, adding she was deeply sorry for the five lives lost in the tragedy.
The US Coast Guard has since said that those noises detected ahead of the tragic developments on 22 June were likely unrelated to the OceanGate expedition, and described them as “underwater noise.” The service has also admitted that the US Navy detected sounds consistent with “an implosion or explosion” after the Titan went missing on 18 June and before rescue efforts were even launched the following day.
The Coast Guard said the information was not publicly shared and rescue efforts continued because the analysis of the noises wasn’t definitive. The Coast Guard has declared the loss of the Titan submersible to be a “major marine casualty” and is now leading an investigation, among many from international maritime agencies, into the tragedy.
Photos shared by the Associated Press showed twisted chunks of the 22-foot submersible— (AP)
More debris recovered on Wednesday (28 June) was unloaded at a port in St John’s, Newfoundland. Photos shared by the Associated Press showed twisted chunks of the 22-foot submersible.
Officials declined to comment on the investigation or the return of debris to shore. Representatives for the National Transportation Safety Board and Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB), which are both involved in the investigation, also declined to comment.
“We are not able to provide any additional information at this time as the investigation is ongoing,” said Liam MacDonald, a spokesperson for the TSB said.
