Cause of Titan sub implosion finally revealed after families had loved ones' remains returned as 'slush'
The families and friends of the victims in the tragic Titan sub implosion have finally learnt what led their loved ones to die, after some saw their remains returned as 'slush' in 'shoeboxes'.
Three years ago, a team of five people died in the Oceangate submersible as it headed deep below the surface to study the wreckage of the Titanic.
Around 90 minutes into the journey, the vessel imploded and killed everyone on board, with an investigation now finally ruling exactly what caused it, following years of allegations and worrying findings, which included the OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush firing a pilot for raising safety concerns.
Videos have captured the wreckage of the submersible that was left behind and while it was hoped that the bodies could be returned to their families, the intense pressure inside the vessel meant that there was very little left of those on board.
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Christine Dawood spoke to The Guardian about the loss of her husband, Shahzada Dawood, and son, 19-year-old Suleman.
During the interview, Christine revealed that her loved ones had been reduced to 'slush' during the implosion and returned to her in shoebox-like containers.
"We didn’t get the bodies for nine months," she explained, adding: "Well, when I say bodies, I mean the slush that was left. They came in two small boxes, like shoeboxes."
The families of the Dawoods, French ex-Navy commander Paul-Henri Nargeolet, British businessman Hamish Harding and OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, may never truly find peace after the tragedy but they do now at least have a reason for why things went so terribly wrong, after the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) of Canada released its final report.
"The as-built properties of the Titan’s carbon fibre cylinder were never validated to ensure they met the theoretical values used in the design process, and the construction and testing of the Titan did not follow standard engineering practices," TSB wrote.
"As a result, OceanGate did not know for how long the Titan’s pressure hull would remain structurally intact when used repeatedly for dives to the depth of the Titanic."
Over the past few years, a number of experts have pointed out the various red flags and potential issues with the submersible, and it seems as if the whole expedition was rushed out far too soon, with the report finding that it did not follow the standard engineering practices.
One of the key issues for OceanGate was that, while the vessel had been tested at a similar depth to the Titanic, the damage that multiple voyages could do to the submersible had not been assessed.
It was on its 88th trip on June 18 2023, when the accident occurred, with the vessel losing contact after a couple of hours, before it quickly became apparent that there would be no survivors.
Timeline of the Titan sub disaster
18 June 2023 - OceanGate's Titan submersible begins its descent
OceanGate Expedition's 21-foot submersible, named Titan, submerges at 8am E.T and begins its tour to the wreckage of the Titanic off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.
OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, 61, British billionaire Hamish Harding, 58, Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77, British-Pakistani billionaire Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his 19-year-old son Suleman are onboard the vessel with a 96-hour oxygen supply.
The Polar Prince loses contact with the Titan around one hour and 45 minutes into its descent.
A few hours after the submersible was supposed to resurface, the US Coast Guard receives a report of an overdue submersible.
19 June 2023 - Search operation is launched
The US Coast Guard launches a large-scale operation when the vessel fails to resurface or make contact almost 24 hours on.
21 June 2023 - 'Banging noises' are detected
Two days on from the Titan's disappearance, sonar crews taking part in the search pick up 'banging noises', giving false hope that the passengers are still alive.
It's later concluded that, while the banging could have been made by a number of things, it was most likely the sonar picking up the sound of other vessels in the area.
22 June 2023 - Debris field discovered
At 1pm ET, the submersible's 96-hour oxygen supply is predicted to have run out, cementing fears for the crew onboard.
Later, the US Coast Guard confirms the Titan was destroyed by a ‘catastrophic implosion’ - a result of both enormous water pressure and failed materials - with the loss of all five people aboard.
28 June 2023 - Human remains found
'Presumed human remains' are recovered from the wreckage of the Titan submersible.
6 July 2023 - Oceangate suspends all operations
The company reveals on its website it will no longer be sending submersibles down to the Titanic or elsewhere.
Topics: Titan Submersible
James Moorhouse