Titanic submersible suffered 'catastrophic implosion,' killing 5: U.S. Coast Guard

Debris from the missing submersible Titan was found Thursday by a remotely operated underwater vehicle. All five people who were in the sub are presumed dead.

Debris from the missing submersible Titan was found Thursday morning by a remotely operated underwater vehicle following a four-day search. All five people who were in the sub are presumed dead.

"The debris is consistent with the catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber," U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger said at a press conference Thursday afternoon. "On behalf of the United States Coast Guard and the entire unified command, I offer my deepest condolences to the families."

The submersible went missing more than 600 kilometres off the coast of Newfoundland Sunday morning during a dive to the infamous wreck of the Titanic. Debris was located roughly 500 metres from the wreck and assessed to be from Titan's external body. Officials said the debris was "consistent with implosion in the water column."

"We're going to continue to investigate the site of the debris field," Mauger said from Boston. "This is something that happened in a remote portion of the ocean with people from, you know, several different countries around the world, and so it is a complex case to work through."

The crew aboard the Titan's support ship, the Polar Prince, lost contact with the submersible on Sunday, about an hour and half into its dive. The U.S. Coast Guard was notified nearly eight hours later, sparking the around-the-clock search effort.

Launched from the Canadian ship Horizon Arctic, the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) located two debris fields and at least five major pieces of the sub, including its nose cone and part of its pressure hull. It is believed the Titan imploded under the immense pressure of the deep ocean before the search and rescue operation even began.

Officials said listening devices detected no sounds consistent with such a "catastrophic failure" and that noises detected earlier by a Canadian aircraft were probably unconnected to the missing sub.