The implosion of the Titan submersible that went missing on Sunday was reportedly known to the US Navy the same day the voyage to the Titanic began.
Underwater microphones, the Wall Street Journal reports, which detect enemy submarines, detected the implosion. On Thursday during a press briefing, it was revealed that the Titan suffered a “catastrophic implosion.”
“The U.S. Navy conducted an analysis of acoustic data and detected an anomaly consistent with an implosion or explosion in the general vicinity of where the Titan submersible was operating when communications were lost,” the Navy said in a statement.
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“While not definitive, this information was immediately shared with the Incident Commander to assist with the ongoing search and rescue mission,” said the Navy in a statement.
The Navy was aware of the implosion just hours after the Titan began its journey to the Titanic, but U.S. Coast Guard officials on Wednesday said that ‘banging’ noises were picked up, and they are currently searching that area, offering a glimmer of hope.
“We have to remain optimistic and hopeful when we’re in a search and rescue mission,” Capt. Jamie Frederick, the First Coast Guard District response coordinator, said at a news conference Wednesday.
When asked about the search becoming a recovery mission, Frederick said Wednesday, “We’re not there yet.”
But it appears they were.
A U.S. defense official said that when the Titan lost communications on Sunday, they began listening under the sea for signs of what was happening.
According to US Coast Guard REAR ADM John Mauger, the Titan debris was located 1600 feet from the Titanic’s bow.
“This is an extremely sad time for our dedicated employees who are exhausted and grieving deeply over this loss. The entire OceanGate family is deeply grateful for the countless men and women from multiple organisations of the international community who expedited wide-ranging resources and have worked so very hard on this mission,” said OceanGate in a statement Thursday.
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During a press briefing Thursday, the US Coast Guard REAR ADM John Mauger said, “This morning, an ROV or remote operated vehicle, from the vessel Horizon Arctic, discovered the tail cone of the Titan submersible approximately 1600 feet from the bow of the Titanic on the sea floor. The ROV subsequently found additional debris. In consultation with experts from within the unified command, the debris is consistent with the catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber. Upon this determination, we immediately notified the family.”
On the vessel was Stockton Rush, the CEO of the company leading the expedition with passengers British pilot Hamish Harding, two members of a Pakistani business family Shahzada and Suleman Dawood, and Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet.
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