US Coast Guard statement in full as Titanic sub human remains found 4 months on

11 October 2023 , 07:12

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The twisted wreckage recovered from the ocean floor (Image: AP)

Further remains from the victims of the Titanic submarine disaster have been recovered, four months after the horrific deep sea implosion killed five.

The Coast Guard said that the recovery and transfer of remaining parts was completed last Wednesday, and a photo showed the intact endcap of the 22-foot (6.7-meter) vessel. Additional presumed human remains were carefully recovered from within Titan’s debris and transported for analysis by US medical professionals.

Investigators believe the Titan imploded as it made its descent into deep North Atlantic waters on June 18.

The multi day search mounted after Titan went silent captured attention around the world. The submersible was attempting to view the British passenger liner that sank in 1912. Passengers Hamish Harding, 58, Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his son Sulaiman Dawood, 19, French Navy pilot Paul-Henry Nargeolet and OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush all died on the submersible.

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Titan submersible passengers (L-R, top to bottom) Hamish Harding, Stockton Rush, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Suleman Dawood and father Shahzada Dawood (Dirty Dozen Productions/OceanGat)

The Coast Guard’s Marine Board of Investigation said investigators from the US National Transportation Safety Board and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada joined the salvage expedition, and the Coast Guard is coordinating with international investigative agencies to schedule a joint review of the evidence to determine the next steps for forensic testing.

The Marine Board of Investigation, meanwhile, will continue its analysis and witness interviews ahead of a public hearing on the tragedy, officials said Tuesday.

OceanGate, the operator of the vessel, has since gone out of business. Among those killed in the implosion was Stockton Rush, the submersible’s pilot and CEO of the company.

Debris from the Titan submersible, recovered from the ocean floor near the wreck of the Titanic (AP)

US Coast Guard statement in full

The statement from the US Coast Guard reads: "Marine safety engineers with the Coast Guard’s Marine Board of Investigation (MBI) recovered and transferred remaining Titan submersible debris and evidence from the North Atlantic Ocean seafloor, Oct. 4.

"The salvage mission, which was conducted under an existing agreement with U.S. Navy Supervisor of Salvage & Diving, was a follow-up to initial recovery operations following the loss of the Titan submersible. Investigators from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada joined the salvage expedition as part of their respective safety investigations.

Coast Guard marine safety engineers conduct a survey of the aft titanium endcap (U.S. National Transportation Safety Board)

"The recovered evidence was successfully transferred to a U.S. port for cataloguing and analysis. Additional presumed human remains were carefully recovered from within Titan’s debris and transported for analysis by U.S. medical professionals.

"The MBI is coordinating with NTSB and other international investigative agencies to schedule a joint evidence review of recovered Titan debris. This review session will help determine the next steps for necessary forensic testing.

"The MBI will continue evidence analysis and witness interviews ahead of a public hearing regarding this tragedy."

Charlie Jones