Four months on from the Titan submersible disaster that claimed the lives of five people, human remains have been found among the recovered debris.
According to grim reports, the Coast Guard has collected the remaining debris from the wreck site, which includes presumed human remains that will be analyzed by medical professionals in the US.
The world waited with bated breath in late June when the OceanGate-operated Titan submersible – bound for an expedition to view the wreckage of the Titanic – lost contact with its mother ship, the Polar Prince.
The quickly-evolving story had a tragic end, however, as it became apparent that the submersible had imploded, killing all five passengers onboard.
As well as OceanGate’s CEO Stockton Rush, four other men perished on the trip – including British entrepreneur Hamish Harding, French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Pakistani-British billionaire Shahzada Dawood, and his teenage son, Suleman.
On June 28 it was reported that pieces of debris had been recovered and returned to land. The wreckage was to be used in a Coast Guard investigation into the catastrophe.
According to new reports, recovery and transfer of the remaining parts from the wreck site in the Atlantic Ocean was completed last Wednesday (October 4).
Presumed human remains were also collected from within the Titan’s debris, and will now be analyzed by medical professionals.
The field of debris was said to be found near the wreck of the Titanic, the sub’s destination: the Titan’s tail cone was found approximately 1,600 feet from the Titanic’s bow, emphasizing the chilling parallels between the two maritime disasters.
Passengers onboard the Titan paid $250,000 for what would have been an eight-day expedition to the wreck of the RMS Titanic. Concerns had previously been raised about the safety of the operation.
“This was a company that was already defying much of what we already know about submersible design,” Rachel Lance, a Duke University biomedical engineer who has studied physiological requirements of survival underwater, told CNN in June.
“I was very suspect of the technology that they were using. I wouldn’t have gotten in that sub,” film director and ocean explorer James Cameron told BBC, adding that he believes OceanGate “didn’t get certified because they knew they wouldn’t pass.”
Our hearts go out to the loved ones of those who lost their lives in the Titan disaster. If you want to read more on the Titan, check out the story below:
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