Missing Titanic submersible live updates: Texts show OceanGate CEO dismissed concerns

Five people, including the company CEO, were aboard the sub when it imploded.

ByMorgan Winsor, Emily Shapiro, Ivan Pereira, Meredith Deliso, and Nadine El-Bawab
Last Updated: June 26, 2023, 9:05 AM EDT

All passengers are believed to be lost after a desperate dayslong search for a submersible carrying five people that vanished while on a tour of the Titanic wreckage off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.

The 21-foot deep-sea vessel, operated by OceanGate Expeditions, lost contact about an hour and 45 minutes after submerging on Sunday morning with a 96-hour oxygen supply. That amount of breathable air was forecast to run out on Thursday morning, according to the United States Coast Guard, which was coordinating the multinational search and rescue efforts.

Titanic tourist submersible goes missing.
ABC News

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Jun 22, 2023, 3:16 PM EDT

Debris consistent with 'catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber'

Coast Guard officials said a remote-operated vehicle found the tail cone of the Titan submersible about 1,600 feet from the bow of the Titanic Thursday morning.

Additional debris found was "consistent with the catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber," Rear Adm. John Mauger, the First Coast Guard District commander, said during a press briefing.

The passengers' families were immediately notified.

What to know about the Titan submersible debris field
ABC News Photo Illustration, USCG

Five major pieces of debris were found, including the nose cone, officials said.

The debris indicates there was a "catastrophic implosion" of the vessel, Mauger said.

It's too early to tell when the implosion occurred, officials said.

"This is an incredibly unforgiving environment down there on the seafloor," Mauger said.

Jun 22, 2023, 2:52 PM EDT

All lives believed to be lost: OceanGate

All five aboard the missing submersible are believed to be lost amid a search for the vessel, OceanGate said.

"We now believe that our CEO Stockton Rush, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet, have sadly been lost," OceanGate said in a statement.

"These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans," the statement continued. "Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time. We grieve the loss of life and joy they brought to everyone they knew."

This photo combo shows from left, Shahzada Dawood, Suleman Dawood, Paul-Henry Nargeolet, Stockton Rush, and Hamish Harding were aboard a small submersible that went missing in the Atlantic Ocean.
FILE via AP

Jun 22, 2023, 1:26 PM EDT

Canadian assets on scene for assistance

A Royal Canadian Navy ship HMCS Glace Bay has been on scene since about 8 a.m. ET Thursday morning. The ship provides a medical team specializing in dive medicine and a six-person mobile hyperbaric recompression chamber, according to officials.

Canadian Coast Guard ships John Cabot, Ann Harvey and Terry Fox are on scene and ready to provide rescue equipment and personnel should assistance be required. A Royal Canadian Air Force CP-140 Aurora aircraft is also maintaining continuous on-scene support with additional aircrews and assets, according to officials.

-ABC News' Luke Barr

Jun 22, 2023, 11:55 AM EDT

'Debris field' discovered within search area, US Coast Guard says

The U.S. Coast Guard announced via Twitter late Thursday morning that "a debris field was discovered within the search area by" a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) "near the Titanic" wreckage.

"Experts within the unified command are evaluating the information," the U.S. Coast Guard tweeted.

The Coast Guard is set to hold a briefing on the findings from the Horizon Arctic's ROV at 3 p.m. ET.

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