From BZ/dpa
The operating company OcenGate released a statement in which they suspect the death of the submarine occupants.
The statement reads literally:
“We now believe that our CEO Stockton Rush, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding and Paul-Henri Nargeolet are sadly lost.
These men were true explorers who shared a strong spirit of adventure and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans. Our hearts go out to these five souls and each member of their families at this tragic time. We mourn the loss of lives and the joy they brought to all who knew them.
This is an extremely sad time for our dedicated staff who are exhausted and deeply mourned at this loss. The entire OceanGate family is deeply grateful to the countless men and women from numerous organizations in the international community who have donated extensive resources and worked so hard on this mission.
We appreciate their dedication to finding these five explorers and their days and nights of tireless work to support our crew and their families.
This is a very sad time for the entire explorer community and for all family members of those who died at sea.
We respectfully ask that the privacy of these families be respected at this extremely painful time.”
This undated photo released by OceanGate Expeditions shows the submersible Titan, which has been missing since Sunday morning Photo: dpa/picture alliance
Expert is certain: Debris comes from the submersible “Titan”
An expert in ship salvage is also certain that the debris field discovered during the search for the “Titan” came from the missing submersible. In talks with the BBC and Sky News broadcasters on Thursday, David Mearns referred to statements made by the President of the Explorers Club in a WhatsApp group.
Explorers are united in the association, and two “Titan” inmates are also members. Mearns said the so-called landing frame and the rear cover of the submersible can be seen. There was initially no independent confirmation of this.
The US Coast Guard had previously announced that a submersible had encountered a debris field in the area near the wreck of the “Titanic”. Experts are now evaluating the information, the authority tweeted without giving any further information.
The submersible has been missing since Sunday morning (local time). The “Titan” was with five people on board on the way to the wreck of the “Titanic” that sank in 1912 at a depth of around 3800 meters.