Titan submersible torn apart by catastrophic implosion, killing all five aboard
A catastrophic implosion ripped apart the Titan submersible, killing all five people aboard as it was descending to the bottom of the North Atlantic during an expedition to the wreck of the Titanic, a U.S. Coast Guard official said Thursday.
Several pieces of the minivan-size craft, including parts of its carbon-fibre hull, were found in a debris field on an otherwise clear section of the ocean floor, about 500 metres from the bow of the sunken luxury liner, Rear Admiral John Mauger, commander of First Coast Guard District in Boston, told reporters.
'Debris field' found during search for missing Titanic submersible: U.S. Coast Guard
The search for a submersible carrying five people took a grim turn Thursday as the U.S. Coast Guard confirmed that a “debris field” was discovered by a remotely operated vehicle near the wreck of the Titanic.
The brief coast guard statement said experts were evaluating the find, but no other details were released.
The submersible Titan, operated by U.S.-based OceanGate Expeditions, lost contact with surface vessels on Sunday morning as it was nearing the famous shipwreck during a 3,800-metre dive that usually takes about two hours.