Missing Titanic submarine search: Five men confirmed dead by OceanGate after debris field found

In a statement obtained by CNN, OceanGate said: “We now believe that our CEO Stockton Rush, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet, unfortunately gone.”

“These men are true explorers with a unique spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans.”

“Our hearts go out to these five souls and each member of their families during this terrible time. We mourn the loss of the life and joy they brought to everyone they knew.”

Key components of the missing submersible claimed to have been found in the debris field, possibly from a previous Titan dive a message seen on The Independent introduced.

Trevor Hale, a spokesman for the Explorers Club said The Independent that a message sent by Explorers Club president Richard Garriot to others in a group was misrepresented.

The “landing frame” and “rear cover” of the submersible found may be from a previous dive.

In his message, Mr Garriot wrote: “We understand the debris found may be the landing frame and a rear cover of the tail instrument compartment of the Titan that were lost in previous dives. We have heard that there may be more more, but no updated visuals of the submersible.”

The daughter of one of the five people aboard the submersible who went missing near the sinking of the Titanic said she continued to hope they would be saved but was relieved to know her father, oceanographer Henri Nargeolet, was in place that he loves so much.

Sidonie Nargeolet said she was living with “a lot of tension, very mixed emotions” as the desperate search for the missing submersible near the sinking of the Titanic entered a critical phase when air was expected to run out for five people on board.

OceanGate Inc, the company that owns and operates OceanGate Expeditions, allegedly received $447,000 from the US Government’s Payment Protection Program (PPP) in 2020.

According to ProPublica’s public tracking of PPP loans, OceanGate Inc received the money to pay their 22 reported employees during the pandemic.

The government’s loan program is intended to help companies continue to retain their workforce during the pandemic.

An estimated $450,074 of that loan was forgiven.

David Mearns, a salvage expert and friend of Hamish Harding and Paul-Henri Nargeolet, told Sky News that the “debris field” allegedly included the “landing frame and rear cover” from the missing submersible.

Mr Mearns said he was in a WhatsApp group involving members of The Explorers Club.

He claimed that the president of the Explorers Club (listed on the website as Richard Garriot) allegedly contacted the ships directly on the search site and told the rescuers on WhatsApp that the “landing frame” and “back cover” had been found. “

Mr Mearns said: “It’s an unusual submarine, with the stern being the tip of it and the landing frame being the little frame it seems to sit on.”

“When the faring is gone and the frame is gone, something bad has happened to the whole structure,” he said.

The Coast Guard and other officials have not yet confirmed this. They are expected to hold a press conference at 3pm EST.

Sidonie Nargeolet, the daughter of the famous French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet spoke Reuters that he lives with a lot of mixed emotions about losing his father but knows that he is doing what he loves most.

“If they are not found, we will be very sad because we will never see him again,” Ms Nargeolet, 39, said.

Ms Nargeolet said that sometimes she had high hopes of finding her father and the other five passengers but as time passed it became more difficult.

He said: “What he liked the most was being on a submarine, (near) the Titanic. He is where he likes to be. I would rather him (die) in a place where he was very happy.

Doug Virnig, who helped develop Titan, told CNN that OceanGate used off-the-shelf technology such as Logitech video game controllers, to save on research and development costs.

“It sounds a little cheesy, but when you realize the amount of technology packed into the controller and its capabilities, and the amount of money it costs to make something like that, it’s just out of charts,” he told the news. network for $29.99 controller.

The US Coast Guard announced on Thursday morning that an ROV, or remotely-operated vehicle, discovered a “debris field” near the Titanic wreckage in the search for the missing submersible.

“While the use of ROVs eliminates the ‘human presence’ in the water, in most cases, ROV operations are simpler and safer to perform than any type of occupied-submersible or diving operation because operators can stay safe (and dry!) ​​on ship decks,” NOAA says on their website.

The ROV that found the debris field was on the Canadian vessel Horizon Arctics.

Rear Admiral John Mauger and Captain Jamie Frederick of the US Coast Guard will host a press briefing at 3pm EST (8pm UK Time) to discuss updates on the search for the missing submersible as well as news that a “debris field ” found nearby. the wreck of the Titanic.

The debris field was apparently spotted by the Horizon Arctic ROV on the sea floor.