The US Coast Guard and OceanGate Expeditions confirmed on Thursday the deaths of the five men on the missing Titan submersible.
Parts of the missing submersible were discovered on the ocean floor, 500 meters from the bow of the famous ship they died trying to see.
The landing frame and rear cover of the missing submersible were discovered by a remote operated submarine in a devastating blow to any hope that the men may still be found alive.
It would mean the sub suffered a crack and imploded under the underwater pressure, instantly killing all five men on board.
Officials have not yet indicated whether they believe the sub ever made it to the Titanic, which the men paid $250,000 to do, or if they died before they ever got to lay eyes on it.
US Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger said: ‘The debris is consistent with the catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber. Upon this determination we immediately notified the families.
‘On behalf of the Coast Guard and the entire unified command, I offer my deepest condolences to the families.’
The prospect of recovering any of the victims’ remains is slim.
‘This is an incredibly unforgiving environment down there. The debris is consistent of a catastrophic implosion of the vessel.. we’ll continue to work and search the area down there – but I don’t have an answer for prospects at this time.’
It is impossible to know when the sub imploded, Mauger added, though none of the sonar buoys that have been in the water since Monday have detected an implosion sound.
