Wreck of crashed Titan ship found, with bodies inside

SGGPO June 29, 2023 10:50

Authorities say analysis of the wreckage and bodies could provide further evidence to help shed light on the cause of the tragedy.

Debris from the Titan submersible was brought ashore in Newfoundland, Canada, on the morning of June 28. Photo: AP

The US Coast Guard said on June 28 that it had found the wreckage and bodies inside the Titan submersible that crashed during an expedition to explore the Titanic earlier this month.

After 10 days missing, debris from the stricken ship was found and brought ashore by the Canadian ship Horizon Arctic in Newfoundland, Canada, on the morning of June 28, according to the Guardian. Large pieces of metal resembling parts of the Titan's white hull and launching skids were lifted from a dock used by the Canadian Coast Guard in St John's, from a Canadian ship called the Horizon Arctic.

Also seen were twisted cables and other items possibly related to the mechanical parts of the 6.7-meter-long submersible that lost contact with the surface 1 hour and 45 minutes after launching.

Officials say the wreckage could help shed light on the investigation into the tragedy and answer questions about the ship's experimental design, safety standards and lack of certification to ensure a similar tragedy does not happen again.

In addition, Mr. Jason Neubauer - head of the Maritime Investigation Committee said that medical experts will analyze the bodies, finding more important evidence about the cause of this tragedy.

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A piece of the Titan submarine is brought ashore. Photo: AP

The debris from the Titan is located about 3,810 metres underwater, about 488 metres below the Titanic. There has never been any actual research into what happens to the human body at such depths, but CBC News quoted Dr. Ken LeDez, a hyperbaric medicine expert in St. John's, as saying that it is possible to recover human remains.

Former Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) investigator Marc-André Poisson said the Americans would likely lead the investigation, with support from their Canadian counterparts, rather than conducting separate investigations.

The Titan was reported missing on June 18 (local time), about 700 km south of St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada. When it went missing, the ship was en route to the site where the Titanic sank more than a century ago. The Titan's pilot was Stockton Rush, CEO of the company leading the expedition. Rush's passengers were a British explorer, two members of a Pakistani business family, and a Titanic expert.

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5 victims on the Titan ship. Photo: REUTERS

The Canadian ship Horizon Arctic is equipped with a remotely operated vehicle, or ROV, to search for wreckage of the submersible on the ocean floor near the Titanic wreckage. Pelagic Research Services, the company with offices in Massachusetts and New York that owns the ROV, said in a statement on June 28 that it has completed its offshore operations. The search team has been working for the past 10 days.

Finding and recovering the wreckage is a key part of the investigation into what went wrong during the OceanGate Expeditions operation, which has been plagued by years of serious doubts about the submersible's design.

OceanGate Expeditions, the company that owns and operates the Titan, is headquartered in Everett, Washington, but the submersible is registered in the Bahamas. The facility was closed at the time the Titan was found.

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