Experts recover 'presumed human remains' from Titan sub wreckage

The US Coast Guard on Wednesday (June 28) said that the experts recovered "presumed human remains" from the wreckage of the Titan submersible that imploded during a dive into the Titanic shipwreck.

"United States medical professionals will conduct a formal analysis of presumed human remains that have been carefully recovered," the agency said in a statement after parts of the wreckage were unloaded in eastern Canada.

Earlier in the day, the recovered debris was offloaded in eastern Canada, bringing to an end a difficult search-and-recovery operation.

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That debris will now be taken on board a US Coast Guard cutter to a US port for further analysis, the organisation said.

"There is still a substantial amount of work to be done to understand the factors that led to the catastrophic loss of the Titan and help ensure a similar tragedy does not occur again," said the leader of the US investigation into the tragedy, Captain Jason Neubauer.

Debris recovered from Titan submersible

Debris from the Titan submersible which imploded, killing all five on board, was recovered and returned to land by a Canadian-flagged ship. The sub operated by OceanGate Expeditions was on a voyage to see the century-old wreck of the Titanic earlier this month. It went missing soon thereafter, becoming a matter of global concern.

A report by the news agency Reuters mentioned that a video from the Canadian Broadcast Corporation carried footage from the harbour, which showed the nose of the submersible and some other shattered fragments.

The pieces were wrapped in a white tarp and were seen being pulled up by a crane off the Horizon Arctic vessel at St John's Harbour in Newfoundland. Reports mentioned that twisted chunks of the 22-foot submersible were brought ashore.

Some experts have previously said that the recovery of the debris will be crucial in the investigation to find out what led to the tragic implosion of the submersible, which killed five passengers, including the company OceanGate's CEO Stockton Rush, besides Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet.

When the officials announced that the search and rescue mission for the passengers was ended and those on board were "sadly lost", it was said that five major pieces were detected amid the debris around the Titanic site. A nose cone, outside the pressure hull, and a larger debris field were among them.

Pelagic Research, which operates the robotic vehicle, said in a statement: "Our team has successfully completed off-shore operations, but is still on mission and will be in the process of demobilization from the Horizon Arctic this morning." It declined to comment further, citing confidentiality reasons.

The company also said that they have been working around the clock now for 10 days and are facing physical and mental challenges during this operation. They said they are also anxious to finish the mission and return to their loved ones.

Footage also showed a shattered part of the hull and machinery with dangling wires being taken off the ship at St. John's, where the expedition to the Titanic had set off from.

(With inputs from agencies)

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