Titan Submersible Implosion: Chilling Footage Reveals Moment of Disaster
A recent BBC documentary has shed new light on the tragic implosion of the Titan submersible, which resulted in the deaths of five people on board. The submersible, operated by OceanGate, was on an expedition to the Titanic shipwreck, located 3,800 metres beneath the Atlantic Ocean, when disaster struck on June 18, 2023.
According to footage obtained by the US Coast Guard’s (USCG) investigation, as reported by 9 News, the moment of the implosion was captured on footage recorded on the sub’s mother ship. The footage shows Wendy Rush, the wife of OceanGate’s CEO Stockton Rush, listening to the sound of the implosion while watching from the sub’s support vessel and asking: "What was that bang?" as cited by 9 News. She is shown sitting in front of a computer that was sending and receiving text messages from Titan about 90 minutes into its dive.
The noise, which sounded like a door slamming, was heard when the submersible reached a depth of 3,300 metres, prompting Wendy Rush to look up and ask other OceanGate crew what the noise was. Moments later, she received a text message from the sub saying it had dropped two weights, which apparently caused her to mistakenly believe the dive was proceeding safely. However, the USCG says the noise was, in fact, the sound of Titan imploding.
The five people on board, including Stockton Rush, French explorer and Titanic expert Paul-Henry Nargeolet, British adventurer and billionaire Hamish Harding, and Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, died instantly. The incident has been described as a "catastrophic implosion," a sudden inward collapse caused by immense pressure.
An investigation by the USCG has centred on the design of the Titan, built from carbon fibre, an unusual material for deep-sea submersible crafts. A known problem with carbon fibre is that its layers can separate under pressure, a process called delamination. USCG investigators believe the Titan’s structure showed signs of weakening in 2022 after the craft completed its 80th expedition.
Passengers reported hearing a loud bang as the sub returned to the surface, which they were told by Stockton Rush was the sub shifting in its frame. However, the USCG says the data collected from sensors fitted to Titan shows that the bang was caused by delamination. The US Coast Guard will publish a final report about its investigation later this year.
The incident has raised questions about the safety of deep-sea tourism and the regulations surrounding it. The BBC documentary provided a damning portrait of OceanGate and its founder, who charged passengers about $US250,000 (nearly $400,000) per dive. The documentary revealed that the company had been warned about the potential risks of the submersible, but had continued to operate it despite these concerns.
As reported by 9 News, the footage obtained by the USCG provides a chilling insight into the moment of the disaster. The incident serves as a reminder of the risks and challenges associated with deep-sea exploration and the importance of prioritising safety above all else. The investigation’s findings and the publication of the final report will be eagerly awaited by those seeking answers about this tragic event.
The incident is a sobering reminder of the risks associated with deep-sea tourism and the need for stringent safety protocols to be in place. As the investigation continues, it is clear that there are many questions that need to be answered about the circumstances surrounding the implosion of the Titan submersible.
Debris from the Titan submersible was recovered from the ocean floor near the wreck of the Titanic and was unloaded from the ship Horizon Arctic at the Canadian Coast Guard pier in St. John’s, Newfoundland. The remains of the submersible were found on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, and the US Coast Guard has confirmed that the vessel had suffered a catastrophic implosion.
In the aftermath of the incident, a dramatic international search and rescue mission unfolded in the remote waters several hundred kilometres south-east of Newfoundland. Authorities concluded that the vessel had suffered a catastrophic implosion, a sudden inward collapse caused by immense pressure.
According to 9 News, the USCG investigation has centred on the design of the Titan, built from carbon fibre, an unusual material for deep sea submersible crafts. Passengers reported hearing a loud bang as the sub returned to the surface.
The US Coast Guard’s investigation into the disaster has revealed a series of alarming events leading up to the implosion. As reported by 9 News, this has also shed light on the exact moments before the tragedy occurred.
