The missing OceanGate submersible, The Titan, has been found and all five passengers were declared dead after the vessel imploded, the U.S. Coast Guard said a press conference on Thursday, June 22, four days after the Titan disappeared while on an excursion to the Atlantic Ocean floor to view the remains of the Titanic.
“This is an incredibly unforgiving environment,” the Coast Guard said in the press briefing. “The debris is consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vessel.”
The speakers added that the five pieces of debris they had originally found was “consistent with catastrophic loss of the pressure chambers.” The families were immediately notified.
A nose cone outside of the pressure hull was initially discovered along with the front end bell of the pressure hole.
When asked if the submersible collided with the sunken Titanic or imploded above it, the Coast Guard replied, “The location of Titan submersible was in an area approximately 1,600 feet above the wreck of the Titanic.”
They are still mapping out the debris they uncovered and remote operating vehicles are still searching. Nine vessels are currently on the scene. The next phase of this process is to “find some closure,” the Coast Guard noted.
Hours earlier, the Coast Guard confirmed via its official Twitter account that one of their remotely operated vehicles uncovered possible wreckage within the parameters of their search surrounding the sunken Titanic.
“A debris field was discovered within the search area by an ROV near the Titanic,” the Coast Guard’s statement read. “Experts within the unified command are evaluating the information.”
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Two hours after the vessel submerged underwater on June 18, the Titan’s mothership, Polar Prince, lost contact with the submersible. Since the Titan is not a regular submarine that can navigate the ocean on its own, it requires its mothership to assist with returning up to the surface, which is about a two-mile climb.
On Tuesday, June 20, the Coast Guard confirmed that they had discovered an unidentified noise in the ocean during their search for the Titan. CNN then reported that the noise was a banging sound, but U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Briana Carter told People the following day that they didn’t have “anything at this time indicating any implosion or banging.”
The Titan is approximately the size of a minivan, according to multiple outlets, and was only equipped with 96 hours of oxygen. The Coast Guard estimated that the vessel had depleted its oxygen supply in the early morning hours of June 22.
The Titanic expedition vessel’s disappearance has gripped the nation, including celebrities such as rapper Cardi B. After the stepson of passenger Harding, Brian Szasz, announced in a since-deleted Facebook post that he had attended a Blink-182 concert despite his stepfather’s missing status, Cardi, 30, called him out for it.
“People are like, ‘What is he supposed to do? Be sad at the house?’” she said via her Instagram Stories on Tuesday, June 20. “Yes. You’re supposed to be at the house sad. You’re supposed to be crying for me. … Isn’t it sad that you a whole f—king billionaire and nobody gives a f—k about you? That’s crazy. I’d rather be broke. I’d rather be broke and poor, but knowing that I’m loved.”
In response, Szasz slammed the “Money” artist in a statement via Twitter, in which he called her a “POS trashy celeb.” He then followed up with a statement via his Instagram Stories.
“Believe it or not, I have about $100 to my name,” he noted. “I can’t go out to the ocean. I have a legal situation keeping me here as well. I can’t get on a flight. I don’t have a passport. I was sitting here yesterday watching the news for two days straight. I go to a Blink-182 show because I have a ticket. It wasn’t like I was having super fun, it wasn’t like I was celebrating having a great time. I was just listening to some of my all-time favorite songs just nodding my head and just trying to get off the phone for maybe two hours or so and come right back into the drama. The submarine is stuck at the damn Titanic. There’s nothing I can do for the situation at all.”
