The US Coast Guard has verified that presumed human remains have been recovered from the wreckage of the Titan submersible.
At the site of the disastrous implosion of the deep-sea vessel, which resulted in the deaths of five people, medical experts will formally examine the remains believed to have been discovered in the debris from the ocean floor.
British explorer Hamish Harding, father and son Shahzada and Suleman Dawood, OceanGate Expeditions’ chief executive Stockton Rush, and French national Paul-Henri Nargeolet perished aboard the vessel near the Titanic wreckage.
Large sections of Titan debris were transported to St. John’s harbour by the Horizon Arctic ship on Wednesday, where they were observed being unloaded by a crane.
During the multi-day international search, an underwater robot carried to the site by the Horizon Arctic dove to the ocean floor in quest of the Titan.
As the recovered detritus reached land on Wednesday, it was covered with a large tarp.
Cranes were used to load the parts onto lorries and transport them away for evaluation. However, some of the fragments appeared to depict the 21-foot vessel’s exterior hull.
All five passengers aboard the Titan perished during the expedition to the ruin of the Titanic, which lies approximately 400 miles from the coast of Newfoundland and two miles below sea level.
The return of the wreckage to St. John’s, Newfoundland, is a crucial part of the investigation into why the submersible exploded, murdering all five on board.
Wednesday, twisted pieces of the 22-foot submersible washed up on a Canadian Coast Guard pier.
Horizon Arctic, a Canadian vessel, carried a remotely operated vehicle, or ROV, to explore for submersible fragments on the ocean floor near the Titanic wreck.
The ROV’s owner, Pelagic Research Services, a company with facilities in Massachusetts and New York, issued a statement on Wednesday announcing the conclusion of offshore operations.
Pelagic Research Services stated that its crew is “still on mission” and is unable to comment on the ongoing Titan investigation involving multiple U.S. and Canadian government agencies.
“They have been working around-the-clock for the past ten days, despite the physical and mental challenges of this operation, and are eager to complete the mission and return to their families,” the company’s statement read.
Titan debris was discovered approximately 1,600ft (488 metres) from the Titanic and 12,500ft (3,810 metres) beneath the ocean floor, the Coast Guard reported last week.
The Coast Guard is in charge of determining why the submersible exploded during its descent on June 18. On June 22, officials announced that the submersible had imploded and that all five persons aboard had perished.
Captain Jason Neubauer, the chairman of the Marine Board of Investigation, stated after the recovery of the evidence, “The evidence will provide investigators from multiple international jurisdictions with crucial insights into the cause of this catastrophe.
“There is still a substantial amount of work to be done to comprehend the factors that led to the tragic loss of the Titan and to help prevent a similar tragedy from occurring in the future.”
An expert consulted by the Coast Guard during the search stated that analyzing the recovered debris could disclose crucial information about what happened to the Titan.
Carl Hartsfield of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution stated that there could be electronic data.
“Of course, every instrument on a deep sea vessel records data. They transmit data. The query then becomes, are there any data available? Monday, he stated, “I do not know the answer to that question.”
The Coast Guard has declared the loss of the Titan submersible to be a “major marine casualty,” according to the National Transportation Safety Board. The investigation will be led by the Coast Guard.
Wednesday, representatives of the Coast Guard declined to comment on the investigation or the return of detritus to shore. National Transportation Safety Board and Transportation Safety Board of Canada representatives, who are both involved in the investigation, declined to comment as well.
Liam MacDonald, a spokesman for the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, stated, “We are unable to provide any additional information at this time as the investigation is ongoing.”
The company that owned and operated the Titan, OceanGate Expeditions, is based in the United States, but the submersible was registered in the Bahamas.
The Everett, Washington-based company OceanGate ceased operations when the Titan was discovered.
The Polar Prince, the Titan’s mothership, was a Canadian vessel. The victims were from the United States, England, Pakistan, and France.
Stockton Rush, chief executive officer of OceanGate and the pilot, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, prominent Pakistani family members, Hamish Harding, a British adventurer, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet, a Titanic expert, perished in the explosion.
Each passenger was charged $250,000 to participate in the voyage.
The demise of the Titan has aroused concerns regarding the security of private subsea exploration operations. The Coast Guard also intends to use the investigation to enhance submersible safety.
