Missing Titan Submarine: Watch Coast Guard Press Conference Livestream

The United States Coast Guard confirmed at a press conference Thursday that the debris field that was detected earlier in the day belongs to the MIA vessel. All five passengers are believed to have died.

“The debris is consistent with the catastrophic implosion of the pressure chamber,” Rear Admiral John Mauger said. “Upon this determination, we immediately notified the families. On behalf of the United States Coast Guard and the entire unified command, I offer my deepest condolences to the families. I can only imagine what this has been like for them, and I hope that this discovery provides some solace during this difficult time.”

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Meanwhile, OceanGate — the company behind the expedition — confirmed that the five passengers have “sadly been lost.”

A five-person crew — British businessman Hamish Harding, Pakistani billionaire Shahzada Dawood and his son, Sulaiman Dawood, French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet and OceanGate Expeditions CEO Stockton Rush — was aboard the tourist submarine on Sunday, as part of an expedition to explore the Titanic wreckage site. Less than two hours later, Polar Prince, the support vessel that transported the Titan to the dive site, lost contact with the submersible. The U.S. Coast Guard was thusly alerted, and a massive search operation got underway.

A five-person crew — British businessman Hamish Harding, Pakistani billionaire Shahzada Dawood and his son, Sulaiman Dawood, French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet and OceanGate Expeditions CEO Stockton Rush — was aboard the tourist submarine on Sunday, as part of an expedition to explore the Titanic wreckage site. Less than two hours later, Polar Prince, the support vessel that transported the Titan to the dive site, lost contact with the submersible. The U.S. Coast Guard was thusly alerted, and a massive search operation got underway.

Noises detected from beneath the waves of the North Atlantic on Tuesday and Wednesday offered new hope, but an extensive search of the area has not yielded results.

The Titan is estimated to have started out Sunday with a 96-hour supply of breathable air. Alas, oxygen would have likely run out by Thursday morning.

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