Pilot, Crew of Titan Submersible Believed Dead, Expedition Company Says, as Debris Found on Ocean Floor Near Wreck of Titanic
The announcement came as the critical 96-hour mark passed when breathable air could have run out.
The company leading the Titan submersible trip says the five missing crew members are believed to be dead.
OceanGate Expeditions on Thursday says its pilot and chief executive Stockton Rush, along with passengers Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet “have sadly been lost.”
OceanGate did not provide details Thursday when the company announced the “loss of life” in a statement or how officials knew the crew members perished.
The vessel’s 96-hour oxygen supply likely ended early Thursday.
The company has been chronicling the Titanic’s decay and the underwater ecosystem around it via yearly voyages since 2021.
The announcement followed the disclosure by the U.S. Coast Guard that a debris field had been found at the bottom of the ocean near the wreckage of the RMS Titanic, and the critical 96-hour mark passed when breathable air could have run out.
