Five major remnants of the submersible that was lost Sunday morning were found near the Titanic today, indicating that an implosion killed the five passengers aboard, according to the New York Times.
A large-scale rescue mission including the U.S. Coast guard, U.S. Navy, Canadian Coast Guard, and other international entities had spanned the course of five days.
The submersible, named the Titan, was traveling off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada on tourism expedition to visit the famed Titanic shipwreck, located 12,500 feet below the sea. Contact with the mothership was lost an hour and 45 minutes after launching. After the submersible failed to resurface at the designated time, the ship alerted the U.S. Coast Guard.
A race against time began, as the Titan only had enough oxygen supply for four days. Rescue teams were hopeful when they noticed banging noises coming from below the ocean, but soon after the appearance of a debris field at the ocean’s surface led to the discovery of the Titan’s tail cone lying on the sea floor, 1,600 feet from the Titanic.
Rear Admiral John Mauger of the U.S. Coast Guard says that the remnants indicate a “catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber.” They are still unsure about the timing of the implosion and the possibility of finding the victims’ remains.
The passengers included American pilot and OceanGate founder Stockton Rush, British explorer Hamish Harding, French Titanic expert Henri Nargeolet, and a Pakistani British father and son Shahzada and Suleman Dawood.
The Dawood’s belonged to one of the most prominent families in Pakistan. Currently residing in London, Shahzada, 48, was a triple citizen of Pakistan, Britain, and Malta. He served as the vice chairman of the Pakistani conglomerate Engro and a board member of Prince’s Trust International charity, which his father helped found. In 2020, Shahzada spoke to the United Nations to support the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. Shahzada was an avid adventurer, wildlife photographer, and proponent for the search of extraterrestrial life.
Shahzada’s son, Suleman, 19, had just finished his first year of business school at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. Although Suleman was apprehensive about traveling underwater, he wanted to join Shahzada in celebration of Father’s Day. Suleman’s interests included science fiction, volleyball, and Rubik’s cubes.
The two leave behind Suleman’s mother, Christine, and sister, Alina.
A statement from the Dawood family says, “The relationship between Shahzada and Suleman was a joy to behold; they were each other’s greatest supporters and cherished a shared passion for adventure and exploration of all the world had to offer them.”
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