All five men on board the missing Titan submersible were declared dead after it was found that the craft imploded near the site of the shipwreck, authorities announced Thursday.
OceanGate Expeditions founder and CEO Stockton Rush, British billionaire Hamish Harding, renowned French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman were all aboard the Titan.
Hollywood filmmaker James Cameron revealed that he received the information within 24 hours of the disappearance of the submersible that it had imploded when it lost communication with its mothership.
‘We got confirmation within an hour that there had been a loud bang at the same time that the sub comms were lost,’ Mr Cameron, who directed the 1997 Oscar-winning film Titanic, said.
His statement comes after Wall Street Journal reported that secret US Navy underwater microphones detected the Titan sub’s implosion several days ago.
The Navy used a top secret acoustic detection system to search for any sign of the OceanGate Expeditions submersible soon after it was reported missing on Sunday, a US Defence official said.
In a statement, the Canadian Armed Forces said: ‘The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) and the Canadian Armed Forces offer their sincere condolences to the family and friends of the crew of the Titan for their tragic loss.
‘This is a truly unfortunate outcome that concludes the great efforts and cooperation between countries, militaries and partners.
‘As this operation is transitioning to recovery and salvage, MRCC Boston no longer requires rescue services.
‘All JRCC rescue assets will return to base to regenerate search and rescue capability and prepare for future search and rescue events. The extent of Canadian assistance with recovery and salvage is currently being discussed.’
Where is the Titanic wreck – and how far down is it?
The wreck’s location is approximately 370 miles off the coast of Newfoundland in the North Atlantic Ocean.
