As we previously reported, the Titanic sub was tragically destroyed, and screenshots of what appear to be its final conversations have since gone viral online.
It comes after the US Coast Guard announced that they had found ‘presumed human remains’ alongside the debris they recovered from the ocean floor.
The heartbreaking news that the 5 people on board the vessel are believed to have sadly died broke last month. It came after debris was found that was “consistent with catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber.”
The sub, named Titan, was carrying 5 people down to the bottom of the ocean to see the Titanic’s shipwreck in real life, which is located 3,800m below sea level, and is 370 miles off the coast of Newfoundland. The trip is thought to have cost £195,000 per head.
It vanished on the morning of June 18 after losing contact with its mothership MV Polar Prince roughly 1 hour and 45 minutes into the vessel’s 2-hour descent.
On board the sub was Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate Expeditions, the company who own the vessel and conduct the tourist trips. Alongside him was the British billionaire Hamish Harding, British-based Pakistani millionaire Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman. The fifth person on board was Paul-Henry Nargeolet, a French submersible pilot who was considered one of the world’s leading experts on the Titanic.
When the underwater vessel lost contact, the search effort hugely ramped up after authorities estimated that they were quickly running out of oxygen.
An update gave authorities more hope, as an aircraft detected “underwater noises in the search area.”
“As a result, ROV (remotely operated vehicle) operations were relocated in an attempt to explore the origin of the noises. Those ROV searches have yielded negative results but continue,” the Coast Guard tweeted.
It was additionally reported that a second aircraft with underwater detection abilities detected “banging sounds.”
However, in the wake of the heartbreaking discovery of the debris, the Coast Guard confirmed that these sounds were likely just ‘background ocean noise’.
Rear Admiral John Mauger explained to Sky News: “We’ve taken that information and shared it with top leading experts from the US Navy and the Canadian Navy, and they’re working on the analysis of that information, they’re continuing to work on the analysis of that information.
“The initial reports is that there’s a lot of the sounds that were generated were from background ocean noise, but they continue to … look for all available information there.”
OceanGate, who ran the expedition, released a statement addressing the heartbreaking loss.
“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,” it began.
“These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans.
“Our hearts are with these 5 souls and every member of their families during this tragic time. We grieve the loss of life and joy they brought to everyone they knew.”
Following the heartbreaking news that the sub likely suffered a catastrophic implosion, a video depicting what this may have looked like has appeared on TikTok.
In a clip shared by user @sincerelybootz, viewers can see a vessel being flattened out and then ripped apart.
“It’s very instantaneous as far as death when it comes to any lives that may be on board,” the narrator says.
A different clip shared by @starfieldstudio shows the OceanGate Titan careering to the floor of the ocean when it crumples as a tin can would when stepped on, before the metal explodes after the vessel imploded, leaving none of the sub intact.
“The hull would immediately heat the air in the sub to around the surface of the sun’s temperature, as a wall of metal and seawater smashed one end of the boat to the other, all in around 30 milliseconds,” the text over the video reads.
Debris from the sub were brought ashore in Newfoundland, giving a first look at the remains of the vessel.
Pictures from the port show the debris covered in tarp as they are transferred onto trucks to be taken away.
The US Coast Guard announced that they have also recovered ‘presumed human remains’ from “within the wreckage” of the sub.
Since then, the final moments of what the passengers likely experienced has been revealed.
Christine Dawood, mother and wife of Shahzada and Suleman Dawood, opened up to the New York Times about just how excited the pair were to go on the trip.
She revealed that during the extensive meetings, where passengers would learn the ins and outs of the mechanics of the sub. The duo were allegedly told that the sub’s lights would be off to preserve batteries during the descent, but they could still expect to see some bioluminescent marine life.
They were also advised to temper their expectations until they approached the Titanic.
As the ride was expected to last upwards of four hours, the passengers were also urged to load their favourite tunes onto the sub’s audio player.
So it’s highly likely the fatal Titanic sub’s occupants passed their last minutes in complete darkness, seeing fascinating bioluminescent organisms drift past and listening to music.
This news is heartbreaking, and the latest update is even more harrowing, as an alleged transcript of the final moments of the sub have been released online.
The unverified script claims to show the last words said by someone inside the submarine, to the crew aboard the Polar Prince, the sub’s mothership.
It has sparked a lot of questions, particularly by implying that passengers were aware of ship problems around 18 minutes before the implosion.
The conversation starts at 7:52 a.m. when the Titan’s five passengers are informed by the ship that they are “clear for descent.”
The Polar Prince tells them, “Enjoy the dive gentlemen,” then directs them to do a “systems check” and gives them the go-ahead.
At 8:34, the sub says: “All systems are functioning normally. We’re in good shape. Continuing our descent as planned.”
They report that “all systems [are] stable” and that their fall is “continuing as planned” around 15 minutes later.
They declare that everything is “under control” and that they are “enjoying the ride” once they have been on their descent for 75 minutes.
However, things start to go wrong barely ten minutes later.
The Titan crew reportedly became aware of an alarm from the Real-Time Monitoring System (RTM) around 9:28 am, according the transcript.
Everyone is in agreement that they should stop descending and head to the surface.
The rise, however, takes considerably longer than anticipated, and by the time they provide their last report, the RTM has “all red” alarms displayed.
The Polar Prince apparently informs the sub at 9:50 am: “We’re not receiving you. Update please.
“We are unable to read you,” it continues. “We are moving to recovery coordinates. Report if you read.”
At 9:57 am, the transcript concludes with a request from the ship: “Please respond if you’re able.”
