OTTAWA - Human remains and wreckage from the tourist submersible that imploded underwater, resulting in the deaths of all five individuals on board, have been retrieved from the ocean floor and transported to Canada. The recovered remains and fragments of the destroyed submersible, called Titan, were brought to St. John's, Newfoundland, by the vessel Horizon Arctic. The incident occurred during a dive to explore the century-old wreckage of the Titanic.
The collected evidence, including presumed human remains and wreckage, will be transported by a Coast Guard cutter to a U.S. port for further analysis and testing. A marine board of investigation, assembled by the Coast Guard, will conduct a formal inquiry into the loss of the Titan. U.S. medical professionals will also examine the recovered remains found within the wreckage.
The specific details and extent of the presumed human remains were not disclosed. Video footage from the Canadian Broadcast Corp captured the retrieval of shattered fragments, including the submersible's nose, wrapped in white tarp and lifted by a crane from the Horizon Arctic's deck.
The retrieved footage revealed additional fragments of the Titan's hull and machinery, including dangling wires, being unloaded from the ship in St. John's. The examination of this debris is expected to provide more insights into the cause of the implosion that resulted in the destruction of the Titan during its expedition to the Titanic wreckage.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB), conducting its own investigation, has conducted preliminary interviews with the crew of the surface support vessel Polar Prince, which was associated with the Titan, and has seized the voyage data recorder from that ship. The TSB has also inspected, documented, and cataloged all the materials recovered from the accident site before handing them over to U.S. authorities.
Debris from the submersible was discovered scattered on the seabed, approximately 1,600 feet away from the Titanic wreck, four days after it lost contact with the surface support vessel. The multinational search efforts came to an end with this discovery, confirming the fate of the five individuals on board. The victims included Stockton Rush, the submersible pilot and CEO of OceanGate Expeditions, along with British billionaire Hamish Harding, businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, and French oceanographer Paul-Henri Nargeolet.
The incident has sparked concerns about the lack of regulations surrounding such expeditions and the decision by OceanGate to forgo third-party industry review and certification of the Titan's unique design. The team involved in recovering the debris is still in the process of completing their mission and will soon demobilize from the Horizon Arctic vessel.