Titan submarine: Human remains believed to be found in wreckage of doomed container

An image of a Titan submarine used for such expeditions

Human remains are believed to have been found in wreckage of the Titan submersible

Ocean Gate
Georgina Cutler

By Georgina Cutler


Published: 28/06/2023

- 23:42

Updated: 29/06/2023

- 00:04

The wreckage of the submarine has been lifted from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean today

Suspected human remains have been found in wreckage of the Titan submersible, the US Coast Guard says.

The debris was unloaded from the Horizon Arctic ship in St John's, Newfoundland, Canada earlier today.


All five on board were killed following a "catastrophic implosion" near the bottom of the Atlantic ocean just an hour and 45 minutes after it submerged.

The US coastguard said that US medical professionals will conduct a formal analysis of the presumed remains.

British billionaire Hamish Harding, British businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood are among those who died on the Titan sub

Reuters

A spokesperson for the Coast Guard said: "United States medical professionals will conduct a formal analysis of presumed human remains that have been carefully recovered within the wreckage at the site of the incident."

Experts suggest the victims - which included three Britons, billionaire Hamish Harding, businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman - would have died within milliseconds.

Also among the victims were 77-year-old French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet and Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate, which operates the Titanic tours.

Captain Jason Neubauer, chair of the Marine Board of Investigation (MBI), added: "The evidence will provide investigators from several international jurisdictions with critical insights into the cause of this tragedy.

"There is still a substantial amount of work to be done to understand the factors that led to the catastrophic loss of the TITAN and help ensure a similar tragedy does not occur again."

It comes eleven days after the sub vanished while on a voyage to the Titanic wreck.

Around ten pieces of the sub have reportedly been taken off the Horizon Arctic ship and were quickly covered in large tarpaulins before being lifted by cranes onto lorries.

Dr Jasper Graham-Jones, Associate Professor in Mechanical & Marine Engineering at Plymouth University said investigators will search the salvaged carbon fibre for cracks.

OceanGate Expeditions, the company behind the much-watched missing Titanic tourist submarine, is navigated by a modified Logitech G F710 Wireless GamepadOceanGate Expeditions, the company behind the much-watched missing Titanic tourist submarine, is navigated by a modified Logitech G F710 Wireless GamepadCBS

"Failure investigations start by collecting all available parts. It's critical to make sure you try and collect carefully so that no further damage is caused to collected parts," he told The Sun.

He added that the process of determining the cause of the implosion could take up to six months.

The OceanGate Expeditions tour group takes explorers to the depths of the Atlantic for $250,000 per person.

The company has faced questions over the safety of the vessel.

You may like