Titan: Coast Guard confirms crew death after catastrophic pressure chamber failure
The US Coast Guard has confirmed that all five occupants aboard the submersible Titan lost their lives after an implosion of the submersible's pressure chamber.
Image of the tourist submarine that carried five people on board to see the Titanic - Photo Reproduction/OceanGate Expeditions
At a press conference held this Thursday afternoon (22) in Boston, Massachusetts, authorities, including the United States Coast Guard, announced the discovery of five large fragments of the submersible Titan, which had been missing since Sunday (18) and confirmed that the five crew members on board the submersible died as a result of a catastrophic implosion.
Discovery
O Rear Admiral John Mauger reported that on Thursday morning a remotely controlled vehicle (ROV) operation team from the Horizon Artic vessel discovered the tail cone of the submersible Titan about 1600 feet from the front of the wreckage of the Titanic. In addition, more debris was found, including a nose cone, outside the pressure hull, and a larger debris field, which suggests it is likely that the five crew members aboard the submersible Titan died instantly into a "catastrophic implosion" during its descent onto the wreckage of the Titanic, located two miles deep below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean.
"With this determination, we immediately notify the families on behalf of the United States Coast Guard and the entire Unified Command. I offer my deepest condolences to the families," said Mauger.
Debris
US authorities reported that an extensive debris field, made up of five main parts of the vessel, was discovered by a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) while exploring the seabed near the wreck of the Titanic, 400 miles south of St. John's, Newfoundland that is, the site of the fatal accident is believed to be 487 meters from the bow of the Titanic wreckage.
According to them, the wreckage found is consistent with the loss of the pressure chamber. However, officials stressed that it was premature to say exactly when the implosion occurred. Furthermore, it was mentioned that no activity was detected on the sonar buoys installed in the ocean in recent days.
End of oxygen
According to the evaluations of the rescue teams, if the submarine remained intact in the morning of this Thursday, the oxygen supply inside the vessel would be running out. The calculations consider the time when the trip began, on Sunday afternoon (18).
Crew
Officials further stated that they cannot confirm the possibility that the U.S. The Coast Guard managed to rescue the bodies of the five passengers who were aboard the Titan submarine, as the environment is extremely hostile. However, the investigation at the crash site will continue, while the vessels and crew will be evacuated within the next 24 hours.
The people occupying the submersible were 58-year-old British adventurer Hamish Harding, who was present, along with 77-year-old French Titanic explorer Paul Henri Nargeoloet. British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48, was accompanied by his 19-year-old son Suleman.
In addition, 61-year-old American Stockton Rush, co-founder of OceanGate, the company responsible for operating the lost submarine, was also on board. On behalf of the United States Coast Guard, Mauger expressed solidarity with the affected families and pledged to provide them with the best possible understanding of the incident in order to begin to find some closure.
In the upper left corner: Paul-Henri Nargeolet, in sequence, Stockton Rush, Shahzada Dawood and son Sulaiman, Hamish Harding, crew members who were aboard the Titan - Photo Reproduction/Reuters/Getty/Dawood Foundation
Investigations
In terms of the big lawsuit, the US Rear Admiral said they will continue investigations at the crash site as there are still a number of questions about the details of how, why and when it happened. The co-admiral stated that they are currently collecting these questions as the governments come together and discuss the next steps in the investigation. Mauger also said there are currently nine vessels at the site, while the search for more details continues.
"We have medical personnel on site, we have other technicians on site and we will begin to demobilize personnel and vessels from the site within the next 24 hours," he said, adding, "This is an incredibly difficult and dangerous environment to work in."
After the press conference, a representative of the US Coast Guard informed that there are no plans to hold future press conferences.
Disappearance
The expedition was planned with the purpose of observing the wreckage of the Titanic, which sank in 1912 in the Atlantic Ocean, at a depth of approximately 3,800 meters, 650 km off the coast of Canada. OceanGate Expeditions, a maritime tourism company, organized the expedition, which required a payment of US$250,000 (R$1.19 million) per passenger. The starting point was Newsfoundland, Canada, and the descent began on Sunday (18), after two days since the beginning of the expedition. Initially, it was expected that the trip to the wreck of the Titanic would take about two hours, however, unfortunately, there was a loss of communication with the module after 1 hour and 45 minutes of travel.
Titan submersible
The submersible called Titan had dimensions of 6.5 meters long by 3 meters wide, weighed more than 10 tons and was built with carbon fiber and titanium. Its operation was controlled by a joystick, similar to a video game controller, and its displacement speed was 3 knots (equivalent to 5.5 km/h), propelled by four thrusters. The vessel had the capacity to carry up to five people and was not autonomous, differentiating itself from large submarines. Therefore, it was necessary to transport it on the surface of the sea for a distance of 643 km to the diving area.
