In a significant development, debris belonging to the missing Titan submersible was discovered close to the wreckage of the Titanic on Thursday. This discovery comes five days after an extensive search operation was initiated when the submersible lost contact with its mother ship.
Rear Admiral John Mauger of the US Coast Guard confirmed that the vessel had experienced a “catastrophic implosion,” resulting in the tragic loss of all five individuals aboard.
Here is a timeline outlining the sequence of events:
Sunday: The Titan submersible launches from the support vessel Polar Prince at approximately 9 a.m., commencing its two-hour dive to explore the Titanic wreck. However, contact with the surface is lost after one hour and forty-five minutes, with the last communication occurring at 11:47 a.m., according to officials. The US Coast Guard is immediately notified, and search operations are initiated later that day. A senior official reveals that the US Navy detected an acoustic signature consistent with an implosion, which is relayed to the search commanders. Nonetheless, the sound is deemed inconclusive, leading to the continuation of the search effort.
Monday: Surface and subsurface searches continue by the US and Canadian coast guards. A Canadian aircraft and two C-130 flights conduct aerial and radar searches, while sonar buoys are deployed to listen for underwater sounds. Authorities estimate that if the submersible remains intact, it could sustain life support for approximately 70 to 96 hours. Locating the vessel is identified as the top priority by the US Coast Guard. Additionally, one of the passengers is identified as British businessman Hamish Harding.
Tuesday: Sonar equipment detects periodic banging sounds emanating from beneath the water, as mentioned in an internal government memo. The US Coast Guard reports that underwater noises were also picked up by a Canadian P-3 aircraft, but the searches yielded negative results. The search operation expands into an extensive international effort with underwater capabilities, as more ships and aircraft join the mission. The remaining crewmembers are identified as Stockton Rush, CEO and founder of OceanGate; Pakistani billionaire Shahzada Dawood and his son, Suleman Dawood; and French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet.
Wednesday: In light of critical oxygen level estimates inside the submersible, the search area is expanded by the US Coast Guard. A fleet of ships and specialized equipment, including a US Navy salvage system capable of retrieving vessels from the ocean floor, is deployed. Additional banging sounds are detected, prompting the relocation of remotely operated vehicle (ROV) equipment to pinpoint their source. However, these efforts prove fruitless. Concerns arise regarding the safety of the submersible, including the revelation that OceanGate Expeditions declined a safety review of the Titan.
Thursday: As new state-of-the-art vessels and medical personnel arrive at the search site, a remote-operated vehicle reaches the sea floor for the first time, marking a crucial moment in the operation. Around midday Eastern Time (ET), the US Coast Guard announces the discovery of a debris field in the search area by an ROV, later confirmed to belong to the external body of the submersible. OceanGate expresses its belief that the passengers have “sadly been lost.” In a subsequent update, the US Coast Guard reveals the retrieval of five significant pieces of debris from the sub, which are consistent with a catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber. Rear Admiral John Mauger discloses that the vessel experienced a “catastrophic implosion,” resulting in losing all five individuals on board. The submersible was located approximately 1,600 feet from the Titanic wreck, and officials are diligently working to reconstruct the timeline of events leading to this tragedy.