Titanic submersible wreckage and presumed human remains were brought ashore.
The “U.S. Coast Guard” announced on Wednesday that presumed human remains and fragments of the submersible Titan, which was crushed in an undersea implosion during a dive to the Titanic wreck, have been recovered and brought ashore in Canada.
The Canadian-flagged vessel Horizon Arctic transported the evidence to St. John’s, Newfoundland, where it will be analyzed and tested by a marine board of investigation convened by the “Coast Guard.” U.S. medical professionals will also examine the presumed human remains retrieved from the wreckage. The specific nature and extent of the recovered remains were not disclosed.
Video footage showed the retrieved fragments, including the submersible’s nose and shattered pieces, being lifted by a crane from the deck of the “Horizon Arctic.” The “Transportation Safety Board” of Canada (TSB), which is conducting its own inquiry, has completed initial interviews with the crew of the support vessel Polar Prince and has seized the ship’s voyage data recorder.
The TSB has inspected, documented, and catalogued all the materials recovered from the accident site before handing them over to U.S. authorities.
Fragments of the submersible were discovered on the seabed approximately 1,600 feet from the bow of the Titanic wreck, days after it lost contact with the surface support vessel. The multinational search for the submersible ended with this discovery, leading to the confirmation of the fatalities of the five individuals on board, including Stockton Rush, the pilot and CEO of OceanGate Expeditions, which owned and operated the Titan.
The incident has raised concerns about the lack of regulation surrounding such expeditions and OceanGate’s decision to forgo third-party industry review and certification of the submersible’s unique design.
The formal investigations conducted by the “Coast Guard” and TSB aim to shed light on the circumstances leading to the loss of the Titan and ensure lessons are learned to prevent similar tragedies in the future.