Titan submarine victim's £1.2million home on sale with Titanic photos on walls

07 March 2024 , 01:25

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Paul-Henri Nargeolet was a deep sea explorer and Titanic expert (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

The home of a deep-sea explorer who perished in the Titan submarine tragedy that occurred close to the Titanic eight months ago is being offered for sale.

Paul-Henri Nargeolet was known as “Mr Titanic” because of his multiple dives to the wrecked liner. He bought a mansion in Holmes, New York, two years ago and was living there with his wife, Anne Sarraz-Bournet, at the time of his death, having moved there to be closer to friends. Regan Andrews from estate agency Houlihan Lawrence Brewster, who is handling the sale, happened to be a neighbour.

She spoke with him just before he left for his tragic final dive. “I met him a handful of times,” she said. “He was very charming, I have to say. He had that glint in his eye.

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Paul-Henri was living there with his wife, Anne Sarraz-Bournet, at the time of his death (@60MinutesAU/YouTube)

“I actually talked to him right before he left for this last expedition. He was calling me to tell me he had a client that he wanted to introduce me to, someone who might be interested in buying a house in the area.

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“And he said ‘when I get back, we’ll meet up’ and I’m like ‘okay, fine, no problem’. He said that he’d be back in June, and we all know what happened.”

Mr Nargeolet bought the four-bedroom, four-bathroom lakefront mansion for $1.5million (£1.18million) in 2022. The 2.7-acre estate boasts a dock and private beach, while the master bedroom features a balcony overlooking the lake, a walk-in closet, and a fireplace.

Paul-Henri was one of four killed when the OceanGate submersible catastrophically imploded (AFP via Getty Images)

In photos of the mansion, the shelves in Mr Nargeolet’s office are still packed with books about the Titanic. In another room, a shelf is decorated with a photo of the doomed liner’s sunken prow, while a White Star Line poster of the ship has pride of place in one bathroom.

And in the dining room, the fireplace is still crowned with a model ship – a reminder of the owner’s life on the ocean. Paul-Henri was one of four killed when the OceanGate submersible, Titan, catastrophically imploded on June 18 last year.

Paul-Henri's mansion in Holmes, New York (Credit: Justin P/Digital Homes via Pen News)

Also killed was OceanGate submarine firm CEO Stockton Rush, businessmen Hamish Harding and Shahzada Dawood, and Mr Dawood’s teenage son Suleman. Mr Nargeolet moved to the house from his previous home in Kent, Connecticut.

Regan, who shares the listing with her colleague Linda Finn, said: “I can tell you that they had friends that lived on the lake, which is probably the first thing that brought them here. And I have to imagine that a man who spent his life on the water liked having a water view. He and his wife who was living there enjoyed swimming."

“And I’m not talking about just paddling around in the water, I mean they actually liked to go swimming in the lake, which was another reason why they bought it.” The home is now up for sale, priced at $1.7m (£1.35m).

Mataeo Smith