The US Coast Guard has said that "presumed human remains" were among the debris retrieved from the wreck of the Titan sub as parts of the vessel were recovered this week.
This discovery comes nearly a week after it was declared that the Titan, originally headed to view the remains of the Titanic, met a catastrophic end in the North Atlantic, claiming the lives of all five men on board.
The submersible had been declared missing after losing contact with its mothership, the Polar Prince, on Sunday, June 18.
It was later confirmed that the vessel had suffered a "catastrophic implosion" and all five passengers on board were presumed dead.
Those on board were Stockton Rush, CEO of OceanGate which owned and operated the sub, Shahzada Dawood, a Pakistani entrepreneur, his 19-year-old son Suleman Dawood, French Titanic specialist Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and British billionaire Hamish Harding.
The US military confirmed that these presumed remains, found intermingled with other remnants from the submerged vessel, will be meticulously analyzed by medical professionals in the US.
The offshore operation was deemed "successfully completed" by Pelagic Research Services, the company responsible for owning and operating the remotely controlled vehicles that salvaged the remains of Titan from the underwater depths, as reported to CNN.
Photos taken by The Canadian Press’ Paul Daly reveal the extraction of white panel-like debris, towering above the two men tasked with guiding it to shore, from the anchor handling vessel Horizon Arctic at the Canadian Coast Guard pier in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. Along with it, another similar-sized part with cords and wires hanging from it was seen draped with a white tarp. Which parts of the Titan these pieces constituted remains unclear at present.
The Titan, as described by OceanGate Expeditions, was a 23,000-pound submersible made of carbon fiber and titanium with just enough room to accommodate five adults. The company utilized this craft as a means to provide extreme tourists with a unique opportunity to come face to face with the century-old Titanic wreckage at the steep price of $250,000 per person.
OceanGate Expeditions, in a statement, expressed that their crew members "have been working around the clock now for 10 days" dealing with the physical and mental rigors of the mission, and are eager to wrap up the task and reunite with their families. Further inquiries were deferred by Pelagic Research Services to the US Coast Guard, with the former maintaining their silence on any aspect of the Titan investigation.
The OceanGate sub disappeared just an hour and 45 minutes into its dive, sparking a large international search and rescue operation, garnering widespread attention, before it was confirmed that the sub had tragically imploded.
A Marine Board of Investigation was assembled by the military branch over the weekend to ascertain the cause of the implosion and to put forward suggestions "to pursue civil or criminal sanctions as necessary." According to the Wednesday news release from the Coast Guard, the investigation board is currently involved in gathering evidence and conducting witness interviews, while a public hearing is anticipated for additional testimonies.
Reflecting on the enormity of the situation, Capt. Jason Neubauer, leading the investigative board, stated on Wednesday, "There is still a substantial amount of work to be done to understand the factors that led to the catastrophic loss of the Titan and help ensure a similar tragedy does not occur again."
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