Possible discovery of human remains in wreckage of Titan submarine

Human remains believed found in wreckage of submersible that imploded.

Human remains are believed to have been discovered in the wreckage of the Titan submersible, according to the US Coast Guard. Pieces of the sub, which collapsed during a deep dive to the Titanic, were transported to St John's, Canada on Wednesday. Among the debris, officials found the sub's landing frame and a rear cover. The coast guard stated that US medical professionals will conduct a formal analysis of the presumed remains. The agency is currently in the early stages of investigating the causes of the Titan disaster. The Coast Guard's Marine Board of Investigation (MBI) will transport the evidence to a US port for further analysis and testing.

MBI Chair Captain Jason Neubauer emphasized that there is still a significant amount of work to be done in order to understand the factors that led to the catastrophic loss of the Titan and to prevent a similar tragedy from occurring again. Captain Neubauer expressed gratitude for the coordinated international and interagency support in recovering and preserving the vital evidence at extreme offshore distances and depths.

All five individuals on board the vessel died on June 18th after it collapsed approximately 90 minutes into a dive to view the famous shipwreck from 1912, which rests at a depth of 3,800m (12,500ft) in the north Atlantic. The passengers were identified as Stockton Rush, the head of OceanGate, which organized the dive; British explorer Hamish Harding; Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood; and French diver Paul-Henry Nargeolet.

Initially, officials were skeptical about the possibility of recovering any of the bodies. Coast Guard Admiral John Mauger stated shortly after the vessel's loss was confirmed that the seafloor environment is incredibly unforgiving. Captain Neubauer mentioned at the time that investigators would take all necessary precautions if human remains were discovered, and that a formal hearing with witness testimony would likely take place.

So far, the coast guard has found five major pieces of the sub in a large debris field near the bow of the Titanic. The debris brought ashore on Wednesday appeared to include at least one titanium end cap, the sub's porthole with its window missing, a titanium ring, landing frame, and the end equipment bay, according to BBC science correspondent Jonathan Amos.

OceanGate has faced criticism for its safety practices, and former employees have raised concerns about the Titan sub, which was not subject to regulation. In email messages seen by the BBC, Stockton Rush had previously dismissed safety concerns from an expert, stating that he was tired of industry players using safety arguments to hinder innovation. Another former OceanGate employee wrote an inspection report that identified numerous issues posing serious safety concerns, including how the hull was tested.

Last week, OceanGate released a statement acknowledging the extremely sad time for their employees, who are exhausted and deeply grieving over the loss.