Sub operator, OceanGate says all five people onboard a missing submersible near the wreck of the Titanic have been lost.
“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,” the company said in a pensive statement on Thursday.
The company said the “men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans” while sending condolences to “every member of their families during this tragic time”.
“We grieve the loss of life and joy they brought to everyone they knew.
This is an extremely sad time for our dedicated employees who are exhausted and grieving deeply over this loss.
“This is a very sad time for the entire explorer community, and for each of the family members of those lost at sea.
“We respectfully ask that the privacy of these families be respected during this most painful time,” OceanGate solemnly said.
The confirmation came a few hours after a “debris field” was discovered by an underwater robot searching near the wreck of the Titanic for the missing submersible.
The development came after rescuers insisted that the multinational mission to locate the craft was still focused on finding the crew alive despite fears that the vessel’s oxygen may have run out.
“Experts within the unified command are evaluating the information,” the US Coast Guard said in a tweet.
The coast guard said the debris field was found “within the search area by an ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) near the Titanic.”
The small tourist sub had been lost since Sunday, somewhere in a vast swathe of the North Atlantic between the ocean’s surface and more than two miles (nearly four kilometers) below.
