Following the tragic news that those onboard the submersible that was exploring the Titanic are presumed to have died, suggestions have been made to leave the bodies where they are.
The US Coast Guard held a press conference last night (June 22) where they made the regretful statement that the five men lost on the sub are thought to have passed away.
"The debris is consistent with the catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber," the Coast Guard said while adding that the five men "have sadly been lost".
A statement from OceanGate, the company operating the expedition, read: "We now believe that our CEO Stockton Rush, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet, have sadly been lost."
The purpose of the expedition was to see the wreckage of the Titanic which lies at 12,500 feet below surface level on the bed of the Atlantic Ocean.
The Titanic famously sank on April 14, 1912, after it struck an iceberg. Due to being dubbed "unsinkable", there were not enough lifeboats on board for the passengers.
Of the 2,240 people onboard, 1,500 sadly lost their lives and for many, their body was never recovered and the wreckage is seen as their final resting place.
Following the devastating announcement that the five men onboard the sub known as Titan have been lost, some believe that they should be left "in peace" instead of attempting to recover their bodies.
Captain John Noble, director at Constellation Marine Services, told Sky News that the five men are now "in a resting place along with hundreds of Titanic passengers," before stating: "The decision may well be to leave them in peace where they are."
He added that he was devastated when he heard the news about the missing sub, Captain Noble said that any recovery effort will have to be "met from some quarters".
In regards to the rescue operation that took place, Captain Noble said: "There was very little information coming back from the craft so a lot of what was being said was informed speculation."
He added: "This will just be the start of a fairly long path by regulators and indeed by the general public," in terms of safety measures for future subs.
"I do think the regulators have to come up with specific requirements for all these so-called research craft to make sure... that they've got some balance for safety, some duplication, some means of escape," Captain Noble concluded.
The families of the Titan Five were informed before the revelation that they are thought to have died was made public.
Our thoughts are with their loved ones during this heartbreaking time.
