James Cameron - the famed film director known for his 1997 telling of the Titanic tragedy - has delivered a scathing critique of authorities' handling of the tragic OceanGate submersible Titan incident.
Cameron, 68, has questioned the officials for not disclosing the "catastrophic implosion" of the vessel after it was reported that the US Navy detected the implosion on Sunday -- shortly after the Titan's disappearance.
The Titan submersible lost contact with its launch ship on Sunday, June 18, while on a mission to visit the sunken ruins of the Titanic.
The ominous silence from the sub - which was carrying five individuals - triggered an extensive international search spearheaded by the US Coast Guard. The world watched on, as anxious anticipation of a possible oxygen depletion hung heavy over the operation.
However, the subsequent discovery of debris from the submersible confirmed the worst fears, with the US Coast Guard announcing on Thursday that a "catastrophic implosion" had seemingly occurred, believing to have instantly ended the lives of all onboard.
It has since been reported by the Wall Street Journal and CNN that the US navy had detected the sound of the Titan's implosion shortly after its departure, casting doubts on the purpose of the prolonged search operation.
One person who has spoken out is acclaimed Titanic filmmaker James Cameron, who revealed in an interview on CNN that he had "got confirmation that there was some kind of loud noise that was consistent with an implosion event".
Cameron continued: "That seemed to me enough confirmation that I let all of my inner circle of people know that we had lost our comrades, and I encouraged all of them to raise a glass in their honor on Monday."
Cameron criticized the delay in disclosing this crucial information, arguing that it led to a "prolonged nightmarish charade" and gave the deceased's families "false hope".
"I watched over the ensuing days this frantic search, knowing full well that it was futile," said Cameron. "Hoping against hope I was wrong, but knowing in my bones that I wasn't. I feel terrible for the families that had to go through all these false hopes that kept getting dangled as it played out."
However, as reported by the New York Post, although the Navy's acoustic system picked up an "anomaly" suggestive of an explosion or implosion near the sub's last known location, the information was "not definitive".
A US Navy official has revealed that the intelligence was promptly shared with the command post. But the indeterminate nature of the evidence sparked a decision to continue the search and rescue efforts, in hopes of "making every effort to save the lives on board".
Onboard the ill-fated submersible was British billionaire Hamish Harding, French maritime expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, father and son Shahzada and Sulaiman Dawood, and OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush.
As debris, consistent with the "catastrophic implosion" theory, is recovered from the ocean, an exhaustive investigation will now take place to ascertain the exact cause of this disaster. The aim is to retrieve as many of the submersible's parts as possible in order to understand the exact point of failure.
However, the severity of the implosion could make it challenging to accurately reconstruct the sequence of events leading up to the devastating incident. Experts will be looking for potential breaches and ruptures in the sub's structure to shed light on what might have caused the fatal implosion.
