On Sunday, June 18, a submarine named Titan set out on an expedition to explore the Titanic wreckage. About an hour and forty-five minutes after the Titan departed, it lost contact with the surface.
Forces from both the United States and Canada conducted heavy searches throughout the Newfoundland area. Underground noises had been detected, but at the time it was not confirmed to be the Titan.
The Titan itself, developed by OceanGate, a company that provides crewed submersibles for tourism, industry, research, and exploration, was made to reach depths up to 4,000 meters, 2,000 more than where the Titanic wreck lies. At those depths, the water pressure is 6,000 pounds per square inch. The vessel contained no navigation system, rather it received instructions from another ship on the surface. It was bolted shut from the outside, giving the passengers no way out, and was controlled with an old Logitech video game controller. Critics have said that it looked hastily improvised and not worth the $250,000 ticket.
The passengers aboard the Titan consisted of Shahzada Dawood, his son, Suleman Dawood, Paul-Henry Nargeolet, Hamish Harding, and Stockton Rush, the chief executive of OceanGate.
On June 22, a debris field was found, confirmed to have belonged to the Titan. Many now theorized the submersible went through a catastrophic implosion. Later that day, it was confirmed by the US Coast Guard. The US Navy revealed that they had detected a noise consistent with that of an implosion the day the sub went missing, further adding to the evidence. Sadly, this means that the passengers aboard the Titan have passed away. Their deaths would have been instant and painless due to the immense water pressure at those depths.
