Missing Titan: ‘Debris field’ found, as all 5 passengers reported dead

The Titanic submersible that’s been missing for days suffered a catastrophic loss of pressure that imploded the vessel, killing all five passengers onboard, the Coast Guard said Thursday.

Coast Guard Rear Adm. John Mauger said a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) had discovered a portion of the Titan roughly 1,600 feet from the bow of the Titanic wreck on the sea floor.

“The debris is consistent with the catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber,” Mauger said at a news conference. “Upon this determination we immediately notified the families.”

Just before the news conference, an OceanGate spokesman told newsmen that the passengers “have sadly been lost.”

The president of the Explorers Club has paid tribute to the Titan passengers now believed dead, saying: “Our hearts are broken.”

In a statement shared on Twitter, Richard Garriott de Cayeux, the club’s president, paid tribute to each of the five people on board the sub.

He called Hamish Harding his “dear Friend” who continued to “push dragons off maps both in person and through supporting expeditions and worthy causes.”

He said Paul-Henry Nargeolet was “one of the foremost experts on submersible expeditions to the Titanic.”

He said of the pair: “They pushed themselves in their entrepreneurial pursuits as they did in exploration.”

Garriott de Cayeux also paid tribute to “friend” Stockton Rush, Shahzada Dawood and son Suleman, who he said would have been “welcomed” to the club at some point in their futures.