WASHINGTON: The US Coast Guard has launched an investigation to identify the factors involved in the underwater implosion of the tourist submersible that killed all five people aboard amid a dive to see the century-old wrecks of the Titanic.
The announcement comes a day after the Canadian Transportation Safety Board said it was conducting an independent probe into the Titan’s tragic fate, which has raised questions about the unregulated nature of such expeditions.
“My primary goal is to prevent a similar occurrence by making the necessary recommendations to enhance the safety of the maritime domain worldwide,” Captain Jason Neubauer, the Coast Guard’s chief investigator, said at a press conference in Boston.
The Coast Guard opened what it calls a marine board investigation on Friday, Neubauer said, and is working with the FBI to recover evidence, including a salvage operation at the debris site on the seabed about 1,600 feet (488 meters) from the bow of the Titanic wreck, about 2-1/2 miles (4 km) below the surface.
The findings will be shared with the International Maritime Organisation and other groups “to help improve the safety framework for submersible operations worldwide,” Neubauer said.
He said the Coast Guard is in touch with the families of the five people killed, and that investigators are “taking all precautions on site if we are to encounter any human remains.”
US authorities had confirmed the tragic loss of the submersible Titan, which disappeared during a dip to the site of the wreckage of the Titanic ship almost a week ago.
All five men on board lost their lives in what was described as a “catastrophic implosion,” or a violent collapse inwards. While some details about the event have been established, many questions about what exactly happened remain unanswered, which gave rise to the calls for a full investigation.
US Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger said on Thursday that he was unsure whether it would be possible to locate the bodies of the five men who died in the Titan submersible.
“This is an incredibly unforgiving environment,” he said, referring to the deep and dangerous underwater area where the submersible disappeared.
Those aboard included wealthy British businessmen Hamish Harding and Shahzada Dawood, whose son Suleman joined them on the Titan. OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush was also part of the crew, along with former French navy diver Paul-Henry Nargeolet. It’s a tragic situation, and the families of those who died deserve to know what happened and to have closure if possible.
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