Source: Anadolu Agency / Getty
The tail cone of the missing submarine was discovered on the sea bottom around 1,600 feet from the front of the Titianic shipwreck around 8.55 AM ET, according to the US Coast Guard on Thursday.
Officials described it as a “catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber.” OceanGate officials believe the five people on board the missing submarine have died.
According to an officer at US Coast Guard press conference Thursday, the search crew located “five different major pieces of debris” confirmed as belonging to the Titan submarine.
He said that the first piece discovered was the nose cone, which was placed outside the pressure hull. Then they discovered “a large debris field,” which contained the pressure hull’s end bell.
Rear Adm. John Mauger, the First Coast Guard District commander said on the possibilities of recovering crew members of the Titan:
“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”.
Hamish Harding, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush were among those on the submersible.
The search for bodies will continue, but the chances are uncertain considering the situation, US Coast Guard said.
Thursday morning the oxygen supply on board was estimated to have run out.
The Titan began its mission Sunday to investigate the Titanic wreckage, which is located around 13,000 feet below sea level in the North Atlantic Ocean.
