The search for the missing OceanGate Titan submersible vehicle has come to a sad end Thursday as search-and-rescue teams found what they described as a “debris field” on the ocean floor located near the wreck of the Titanic, which is the location the craft was headed for when it lost contact with the surface vessel on Sunday morning. Man, this is not the outcome we were all hoping for.
“The debris is consistent with the catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber. Upon this determination, we immediately notified the families on behalf of the United States Coast Guard and the entire unified command,” the Coast Guard revealed during a news briefing Thursday, according to Fox News.
The announcement was made just hours after the Coast Guard alerted the general public that a robotic vehicle discovered the debris.
“A debris field was discovered within the search area by an ROV near the Titanic,” the USCG remarked right before noon.
“The Titan lost contact with its surface vessel, the Polar Prince, around 1 hour and 45 minutes into its dive Sunday morning, about 900 miles east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and around 400 miles southeast of St John’s, in Canada’s Newfoundland,” the report said.
“We understand debris has been found which may be the landing frame and a rear cover of the tail instrument compartment of The Titan lost on previous dives,” Richard Garriott, the president of the Explorers Club said to the group, according to a spokesman. Members of the club were on the vehicle. “We hear there may be additional debris, but no updated visuals of the submersible.”
Individuals listed as being in the underwater vessel include OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush; British businessman and adventurer Hamish Harding; a father-and-son duo comprised of Shaada and Suleman Dawood, both of whom were part of a super wealthy family from Pakistan; and last, but not least, Paul-Henry Nargeolet, who formerly served as a French navy officer and was considered to be a leading expert on the Titanic.
“These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans,” OceanGate remarked in a statement on the incident. “Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time.”
Search-and-rescue teams spent the majority of the week sending out technologically advanced buoys, robotic vehicles, and conducting aerial searches to try and locate the submersible.
“As of Thursday morning, several with the ability to reach the ocean floor had been deployed in the Atlantic as the Titan’s estimated initial supply of 96 hours of oxygen dwindled – including the Victor 6000, which descended from the French L’Atalante research vessel to the ocean floor,” Fox News reported.
On both Tuesday and Wednesday, Canadian pilots picked up sounds during a search of the area where they believed the vehicle to be located. A retired Navy captain and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution scientist, Carl Hartsfield, went on to describe the sounds picked up by the craft as “banging.
As of this writing, authorities have not revealed their source.
You can see a video about the discovery here.
Featured image is a screenshot taken from video that can be seen here.
Watch the latest video at foxnews.com