All the five men onboard a missing submersible near the wreck of the Titanic have been lost, according to Sub operator OceanGate.
The company confirmed this in a statement on Thursday.
“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,” it read.
It added that the “men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans.”
OceanGate also sent condolences to “every member of their families during this tragic time” while calling for privacy for them.
The confirmation came hours after a “debris field” was found by an underwater robot searching near the wreck of the Titanic for the missing submersible.
At a press briefing in Boston later Thursday, the US Coast Guard said the debris discovered on the ocean floor suggests the missing submersible near the wreck of the Titanic suffered a “catastrophic loss” of pressure,
“Upon this determination, we immediately notified the families,” Rear Admiral John Mauger told reporters in Boston.
“On behalf of the United States Coast Guard and the entire unified command, I offer my deepest condolences to the families.”
The missing submersible was carrying British billionaire Hamish Harding and dual Pakistani-British citizens Shahzada Dawood, a tycoon, and his son Suleman. OceanGate Expeditions charges $250,000 for a seat on the sub.
Also on board is OceanGate’s CEO, Stockton Rush, and a French submarine operator Paul-Henri Nargeolet, nicknamed “Mr Titanic” for his frequent dives at the site.
Ships and planes have scoured 10,000 square miles (around 20,000 square kilometers) of surface water — roughly the size of the US state of Massachusetts — for the vessel.
The Titanic’s watery grave is situated 400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, and more than two miles below the surface of the North Atlantic.
