The US Coast Guard said Thursday (July 22) that a remotely-operated vehicle deployed from a Canadian vessel had discovered a "debris field" near the Titanic and that experts were "evaluating the information."
The robot vehicle was one of two sent to the bottom of the Atlantic in search of the Titan, a van-sized submersible owned by OceanGate Expeditions, after it went missing early Sunday morning (June 18).
A representative for Pelagic Research Services confirmed to CNN that its robot was the one that found the alleged debris field.
On board, the Titan were five passengers: OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, retired French submariner Paul-Henri Nargeolet, British billionaire and adventurer Hamish Harding, and British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Sulaiman. Rescuers feared they had run out of time to find them alive as the sub's 96-hour oxygen supply was about to run out.
Earlier reports this week said sonar buoys had detected banging sounds at 30-minute intervals, speculating the crew might still be alive. However, remote-controlled underwater vehicles could not pinpoint the location of where the noises were coming from. Even if the Titan was located in time, there would be logistical challenges to retrieve the sub and pluck the passengers out of it alive.
It was also reported that several individuals have been doubting the standard on which the Titan was built, as well as its questionable steering and control systems and if they were even rated to dive as deep as the Titanic in the first place. The alleged debris field might be attributed to the worst-case scenario experts have feared, that the Titan imploded in itself and crushed all five aboard.
US Coast Guard Rear Adm. John Mauger told NBC the search would continue throughout the day.
A debris field was discovered within the search area by an ROV near the Titanic. Experts within the unified command are evaluating the information. 1/2
— USCGNortheast (@USCGNortheast) June 22, 2023
Older Dawood Not a 'Risk-Taker,' Friend Says
According to SETI Institute President and CEO Bill Diamond, Shahzada Dawood, the Pakistani businessman aboard the Titan, was a "quiet and unassuming" person and not a "daredevil by nature."
He added that he did not intend to be known as a "risk-taking explorer," unlike fellow passenger Hamish Harding, the billionaire, and adventurer who once flew aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard capsule to the edge of space.
"I think he would want to be remembered as a humble businessman, curious about the world and fascinated by the opportunity to take this excursion and be on this expedition," he told NBC.
The SETI Institute is a California-based organization searching for signs of extraterrestrial life. The older Dawood is on SETI's board of trustees. His 19-year-old son Sulaiman is with him on the Titan.
OceanGate CEO's Wife Related to Titanic Victims
Meanwhile, The New York Times reported that Wendy Rush, the wife of OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, is a descendant of two famous Titanic victims.
It was revealed she was a great-great-granddaughter of Isidor and Ida Straus, a wealthy elderly couple who drowned alongside hundreds of passengers and crew aboard the Titanic when she sank in 1912. Their great-grandson Paul A. Kurzman said in 2017 that the couple were first-class passengers on the Titanic and had chosen to die together as the ship sank.
The story has been an inspiration to one of the scenes in the 1997 film "Titanic," where an elderly couple embraced each other in bed as their room began to flood.
Straus Historical Society executive director Joan Adler said Wendy was related to one of Straus' daughters on her father's side.
Aside from being the wife of Stockton, she also had a role in OceanGate as its director of communications, according to her LinkedIn page.
This is a developing story. Please check back on HNGN later for more updates.
Related Article: Titan Submersible: OceanGate CEO's Wife Wendy Rush Related to Famous Titanic Victims
