5 People on Board Missing Titanic Sub Believed to Be Dead, OceanGate Says

The five people aboard a submarine that went missing on a underwater trip to see the Titanic wreckage have died. According to CBS News, the OceanGate company shared that the belief is that the submersible vehicle and all five aboard have been killed.

“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 statement begins. “These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans…Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time. We grieve the loss of life and joy they brought to everyone they knew.”

The statement follows reports that wreckage and debris from the sub had been found by U.S. Coast Guard robots, with passenger Nargeolet’s publicist confirming the debris was from the submarine. The vessel had launched into the Atlantic waters from a Canadian research vessel on Sunday. After about an hour and 45 minutes into the dive, the ship lost contact, with enough reported oxygen on board to last until Thursday morning or around 96 hours.

The Coast Guard praised the search efforts and “rapid mobilization” to search for the sub. “The outpouring of support in this highly complex search operation has been robust and immensely appreciated. We are grateful for the rapid mobilization of experts on the undersea search and rescue, and we thank all of the agencies and personnel for their role in the response. We’re also incredibly grateful for the full spectrum of international assistance that’s been provided,” U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. John Mauger said during a press conference after the grim news.

He also confirmed that the timeline will continue to be investigated and answers as to what happened will hopefully become clear. According to the news conference, the “five different major pieces of debris” helped to identify the doomed submersible. According to CNN, this includes the nose cone first followed by a larger field that contained the pressure hull. One end was in the larger debris pile, while the other was in a second within the larger first. “We continue to map the debris field and as the admiral said, we will do the best we can to fully map out what’s down there,” the Coast Guard confirmed.

According to CNN, the likely scenario is painted out by the debris. “This is an incredibly unforgiving environment down there on the sea floor and the debris is consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vessel,” Mauger said. “We’ll continue to work and search the area down there but I don’t have an answer for prospects at this time.”