The Five Rich Men Who Went Missing On The Submersible To See The Titanic Are Presumed Dead
The US Coast Guard said the submersible had undergone a “catastrophic implosion”.
The five people who went missing after they embarked on a trip in a submersible vessel – a mini submarine – to see the wreckage of the Titanic are presumed dead.
The company operating the submersible, Oceangate, said in a statement on Thursday June 22 that they believe the five men had “sadly been lost” after they went missing on Sunday June 18.
On Friday, June 16, the expedition left Newfoundland in Canada to the Titanic wreckage site as part of a eight-day trip, which cost US$250,000 per person.
The five passengers included British billionaire, Hamish Harding; a member of Pakistan’s richest families, Shahzada Dawood, and his teenage son; French maritime expert, Paul-Henri Nargeolet; and the founder and CEO of Oceangate, Stockton Rush.
“Due to the worst winter in Newfoundland in 40 years, this mission is likely to be the first and only manned mission to the Titanic in 2023. A weather window has just opened up and we are going to attempt a dive tomorrow,” Harding had wrote on his Instagram Saturday.
The dive on Sunday was supposed to only take two and a half hours, but the submersible lost contact one hour and 45 minutes after departure.
The vessel contained only approximately four days worth of emergency oxygen.
On Thursday, the US Coast Guard reported finding debris pertaining to the submarine, which they said had undergone a “catastrophic implosion.”
The day before, search officials said they had heard “banging noises” at 30 minute intervals, which they believed could have been the explosion of the submarine.
However, the noises were later believed to have been coming from other ships in the area.
Search officials said they hope the announcement brings some solace to the families and will continue to investigate why it happened.
The media attention around the story had ignited conversations about how migrants go missing on the ocean all the time and receive little attention.
Just a week prior, on Wednesday June 14, at least 78 migrants died after their boat sank off the Greek coast, and hundreds of others are still missing.
