The five people on board the submersible that went missing on an expedition to the Titanic shipwreck have been confirmed dead.
The tragic news was corroborated by OceanGate and the U.S. Coast Guard after debris from the vessel was found in the vicinity of the Titanic wreck. It is believed that the cause of death was a “catastrophic implosion” of the Titan submersible however it is still unclear when this implosion occurred.
“The debris is consistent with the catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber,” Rear Admiral John Mauger of the First Coast Guard District said, per the ABC.
“Our most heartfelt condolences go out to the loved ones of the crew.”
The tragic discovery came after an unmanned deep-sea robot was deployed and found the debris just 488 meters from the Titanic itself, four kilometers underwater. Following this discovery, OceanGate Expeditions made a statement publicly naming the passengers who they believe to be deceased.
“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 company stated.
