The U.S. Coast Guard confirmed on Wednesday that “presumed human remains” and debris had been recovered from the ocean floor from a five-passenger submersible that imploded near the Titanic wreckage site, more than a week after a search was launched. The evidence will be transported to a port in the U.S. for “further analysis and testing” by the Marine Board of Investigation, the Coast Guard said. The sub’s remains were recovered by a remote-operated vehicle, which was sent down roughly 12,500 feet underwater where the remains of the Titan were on the ocean floor.
The Titan, a submersible operated by OceanGate Expeditions, lost contact with its home ship June 18 off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. Multiple countries sent resources in a frantic search for the sub, led by the U.S. Coast Guard. Last Thursday, the Coast Guard said that debris had been discovered on the ocean floor near the bow of the wrecked Titanic and that all five people on board had been killed. It’s believed that the submersible imploded, and the cause is under investigation.
Marine Board of Investigation Chair Capt. Jason Neubauer said in a statement: “The evidence will provide investigators from several international jurisdictions with critical insights into the cause of this tragedy. There is still a substantial amount of work to be done to understand the factors that led to the catastrophic loss of the TITAN and help ensure a similar tragedy does not occur again.”
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