US Coast Guard confirms crew of Titan sub have died after "catastrophic" event Rear Adm John Mauger, the First Coast Guard District commander says a remotely operated vehicle from Horizon Arctic discovered the tail cone of the Titan sub approximately 1,600 feet from the bow of the Titanic on the seafloor. The debris is “consistent with a catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber”, he says. Upon this determination, we immediately notified the families on behalf of the United States Coast Guard and the entire unified command. I offer my deepest condolences to the families. The Pakistani foreign ministry has issued its condolences to the family of Shahzada and Suleman Dawood, as well as the other families of the victims who died in the implosion. “Our deepest condolences to the Dawood family and the family of other passengers on the sad news about the fate of Titanic submersible in the North Atlantic. We appreciate the multinational efforts over the last several days in search of the vessel,” the ministry said. 19-year old victim’s aunt: He was “terrified” prior to trip The aunt of 19-year-old Suleman Dawood told NBC that her nephew was “terrified” of the expedition prior to embarking on it. Azmeh Dawood, the older sister of the Pakistani billionaire businessman Shahzada Dawood told the outlet that Suleman had told a relative that he “wasn’t very up for it” and felt “terrified” about the journey. “I am thinking of Suleman, who is 19, in there, just perhaps gasping for breath ... It’s been crippling, to be honest,” Azmeh said. “I feel disbelief … It’s an unreal situation,” she said, adding, “I feel like I’ve been caught in a really bad film, with a countdown, but you didn’t know what you’re counting down to … I personally have found it kind of difficult to breathe thinking of them.” Azmeh also talked about her younger brother Shahzada who also died in the implosion, saying, “He was my baby brother … I held him up when he was born.” She added that her brother was “absolutely obsessed” with the Titanic from an early age and that he loved visiting museum exhibitions on the wreck. In an old undated video posted online following news of the implosion, the CEO of OceanGate Stockton Rush can be seen admitting that he broke some rules to create the submersible. “I’d like to be remembered as an innovator. I think it was Gen McArthur that said, ‘You’re remembered for the rules you break.’ I have broken some rules to make this. I think I’ve broken them with logic and good engineering behind me. The carbon fibre and titanium there is a rule that you don’t do that. Well, I did,” Stockton said, referring to a combination of two materials that can cause a galvanic corrosion. Titanic director James Cameron: "I"m struck by the similarity" of both incidents Titanic film director James Cameron who has made 33 dives to the wreck site has responded to the news of OceanGate Titan’s submersible imploding. In an interview with ABC, Cameron said: I’ve been down there many times … I know the wreck site very well … I understand the engineering problems associated with building this type of vehicle and all the safety protocols … This is a mature art and many people in the community were concerned about the sub … I’m struck by the similarity of the Titanic disaster itself, where the captain was repeatedly warned about ice ahead of his ship and yet he steamed at full speed into an ice field on a moonless night and many people died as a result.” Summary of the day so far Five crew members aboard the submersible Titan were probably killed instantly in a “catastrophic implosion” as it descended to the wreck of the Titanic two miles below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean, US Coast Guard officials said. A large debris field containing five major pieces of the vessel were spotted by a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) scouring the seabed near the Titanic wreck site 400 miles south of St John’s, Newfoundland, officials said. The debris was “consistent with the catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber”, they said. It is too early to tell exactly when the implosion occurred, officials said, noting that nothing was detected on sonar buoys deployed in the ocean in recent days. Those aboard the submersible were British adventurer Hamish Harding, 58; French veteran Titanic explorer Paul Henri Nargeoloet, 77; British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his 19-year-old son Suleman; and 61-year-old American Stockton Rush, co-founder of OceanGate, the company that operated the lost sub. Officials could not confirm whether they will be able to recover the bodies of the crew members. The US Coast Guard will continue to investigate the site of the debris field, while vessels and personnel will be demobilised over the next 24 hours. Richard Garriott, president of the Explorers Club, of which Hamish Harding and Paul-Henri Nargeolet were both members, has said he is “heartbroken for the families, friends and colleagues of those who were lost”. The statement reads: Our friends and fellow Explorers Club members Hamish Harding and Paul-Henri Nargeolet are lost, along with Stockton Rush, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, while trying to reach the RMS Titanic. He said the club is “grateful for all our members and the scientific and exploration community around the world who have mobilized personnel and resources to support the search and rescue”. Garriott described Harding as a “dear friend” to himself and the Explorers Club. “He holds several world records and has continued to push dragons off maps both in person and through supporting expeditions and worthy causes,” he says. Harding and Nargeolet were “both drawn to explore … in the name of meaningful science for the betterment of mankind”, he added. We’re heartbroken for the families, friends and colleagues of those who were lost. Their memories will be a blessing and will continue to inspire us in the name of science and exploration. The UK’s foreign secretary, James Cleverly, has paid tribute to the five crew members – including three British citizens – who died on board the Titan sub. He posted to Twitter: Tragic news that those on the Titan submersible, including three British citizens, have been lost following an international search operation. The UK government is closely supporting the families affected and expresses our deepest condolences. Vessels and personnel to be demobilised over next 24 hours, says US Coast Guard US Coast Guard officials said the next phase would be to make sure that the families of those crew members on board the Titan sub “have an understanding as fast as we can of what happened and begin to find some closure”. Teams will continue to investigate the site of the debris field, officials said. Rear Adm Mauger said there were nine vessels on the scene as well as medical personnel and other technicians. We will begin to demobilise personnel and vessels from the scene over the course of the next 24 hours. But we’re going to continue remote operations on the sea floor. He said he did not have a timeline for when the remote operations on the seafloor would be stopped. It is too early to know when the “catastrophic implosion” took place, Rear Adm Mauger says. We know that as we’ve been prosecuting this search over the course of the last 72 hours. Beyond that, we’ve had sonar buoys in the water nearly continuously and have not detected any catastrophic events when those buoys have been in the water. Size of the debris field consistent with implosion, says expert Asked if the sub could have collided with the Titanic, Carl Hartsville of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution says the wreck lies approximately 1,600 feet from the Titanic. That area does not have any debris of Titanic, he says. It is a smooth bottom there. To my knowledge and anything I’ve seen there’s no Titanic wreckage in that area. The debris found of the Titan sub lies “200 plus metres” from the bow of the Titanic wreck, he says. It’s consistent with the location of last communication for an implosion in the water column. The size of the debris field is consistent with that implosion in the water column. R Adm John Mauger says "catastrophic implosion" of vessel would have been picked up by sonar Rear Adm John Mauger says there “doesn’t appear to be any connection” between the underwater noises detected in the search-and-rescue mission and the location on the seafloor. This was a “catastrophic implosion” of the vessel which would have “generated a significant… sound down there that the sonar buoys would have picked up”, he says. Asked what the prospects are for recovering the bodies of the crew members, Rear Adm John Mauger replies: We’ll continue to work and continue to search the area, but I don’t have an answer for prospects at this time. This is an “incredibly unforgiving environment”, he adds. Five different pieces of debris signalled it was Titan sub, says expert Paul Hankin, an undersea expert, says rescuers found “five different major pieces of debris that told us that it was the remains of the Titan”. The initial thing we found was the nose cone... then we found a large debris field. Within that large debris field, we found the front end bell of the pressure hull. That was the first indication that there was a catastrophic event. Shortly after, we found a second smaller debris field within that debris field. We found the other end of the press hull that…basically comprised of the totality of that pressure chamber... We will do our best to fully map out what’s down there. Rear Adm John Mauger says it is an “incredibly complex” case and that the team is still working to develop the details for the timeline. The ROVs are operating in a complex environment on the seafloor over two miles beneath the surface, he says. Rear Adm John Mauger says he hopes that this discovery provides some solace to the families of the crew on board the Titan sub during this difficult time. He says the team have been in close contact with the British and French consuls general to ensure that they are fully apprised. The US Coast Guard are “grateful for the rapid mobilisation of experts on the undersea search and rescue” and “incredibly grateful for this full spectrum of international assistance that’s been provided”. The ROVs will remain on scene and continue to gather information, he says. US Coast Guard confirms crew of Titan sub have died after "catastrophic" event Rear Adm John Mauger, the First Coast Guard District commander says a remotely operated vehicle from Horizon Arctic discovered the tail cone of the Titan sub approximately 1,600 feet from the bow of the Titanic on the seafloor. The debris is “consistent with a catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber”, he says. Upon this determination, we immediately notified the families on behalf of the United States Coast Guard and the entire unified command. I offer my deepest condolences to the families. Here’s the full statement by OceanGate, as reported by the BBC: 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. 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. This is an extremely sad time for our dedicated employees who are exhausted and grieving deeply over this loss. The entire OceanGate family is deeply grateful for the countless men and women from multiple organizations of the international community who expedited wide-ranging resources and have worked so very hard on this mission. We appreciate their commitment to finding these five explorers, and their days and nights of tireless work in support of our crew and their families. This is a very sad time for the entire explorer community, and for each of the family members of those lost at sea. We respectfully ask that the privacy of these families be respected during this most painful time.