'Catastrophic implosion': Navy detected acoustic anomaly shortly after Titan lost contact
BOSTON – Debris found near the Titanic on Thursday indicates the missing submersible that was on a voyage to explore the wreckage suffered a "catastrophic implosion," the Coast Guard said, killing all five people on board.
A remote operated vehicle (ROV) found five major pieces of debris from the submersible about 1,600 feet from the bow of the Titanic, the Coast Guard said.
"The debris is consistent with the catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber," Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger said. He said it's not yet clear when the implosion took place.
The family of those on board were immediately notified about the discovery, Mauger said.
A Canadian research vessel lost contact with the 21-foot sub an hour and 45 minutes into its dive Sunday morning about 900 nautical miles off the coast of Cape Cod. It had been expected to resurface Sunday afternoon.
A Navy official says "an acoustic anomaly consistent with an implosion" was detected shortly after the Titan lost contact with the surface. This official said the information was relayed to the Coast Guard team which used it to narrow the radius of the search area.
"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," Titan sub operator OceanGate said in a statement. "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."
Mauger said it's unclear now if the victims can be recovered.
"This is an incredibly unforgiving environment down there on the seafloor, and the debris is consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vessel," he said. "We'll continue to work and search the area down there."
More resources had arrived Thursday at the remote area of the Atlantic Ocean where crews have been desperately searching for the submersible.
The Ann Harvey and Motor Vessel Horizon Arctic, a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), arrived in the search area early Thursday morning. The Horizon Arctic and the French vessel L'Atalante deployed their ROVs to the ocean floor, the Coast Guard said.
A Canadian plane detected noises underwater in the search area Tuesday and crews were focused on finding the origin of the sounds.
MORE: What to know about the 5 passengers on the missing Titanic sub
Coast Guard officials had previously estimated that oxygen inside the submersible could run out at some point Thursday.
The sub's disappearance on Sunday spurred a massive response from the U.S. and Canada as search crews rushed to find the missing group in the north Atlantic Ocean.
