As it happened | All crew on board missing submersible declared dead, US Coast Guard to demobilise search operation

It will be crucial to investigate and examine fragments of carbon fibre used in the construction of the vessel. The crucial question is whether a structural failure occurred, resulting in a breach in the hull, possibly due to inadequate testing.

Thorough analysis of the material could uncover any potential flaws within it. Professor Blair Thornton from the University of Southampton provides insights on the possible scenario. While talking to BBC, he explained that if there was a catastrophic failure of the primary enclosure, the submersible would have experienced immense pressures, equivalent to the weight of the Eiffel Tower, amounting to tens of thousands of tonnes. This intense compression would have caused a powerful implosion of the main housing.

Here is what Rear Adm Mauger told the press about the missing submersible that has now been located near the wreckage of the Titanic ship.

1) Rear Adm Mauger said five deceased bodies may never be recovered.
2) Five major pieces of the Titan sub found. 
3) Debris field located 1600ft (487m) off the bow of the Titanic wreck.
4) Search operation to continue for some time to find out more details
5) It was too early to tell when and how the implosion took place, and what caused it.
6) Adm Mauger clarified that there was no relation between noises earlier detected from the sea and the submersible wreck.
7) US Coast Guard will demobilise its personnel over the next 24 hours. Adm Mauger said there were 9 vessels currently deployed on the search mission.

US Coast Guard has said that the Titan submersible might have imploded deep under the sea near the wreckage of the Titanic ship, resulting in the death of all five people on board. 

US Coast Guard has revealed that a submarine robot found the debris of the lost Titan submersible on the seabed near the Titanic wreckage. Watch the statement live:
 

OceanGate company, that provides crewed submersibles for tourism, industry, research and exploration, has just released this statement.

"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.

These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans. Our hearts are with these five souls and 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. The entire OceanGate family is deeply grateful for the countless men and women from multiple organisations of the international community who expedited wide-ranging resources and have worked so very hard on this mission.

We appreciate their commitment to finding these five explorers, and their days and nights of tireless work in support of our crew and their families.

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."

You can see the highlighted text in the image below to know which parts of the Titan submersible have been found among the debris. It must be noted that the landing frame and rear cover have been found.

Dive expert David Mearns a friend of passengers aboard the missing Titan submersible has told BBC that the debris includes "a landing frame and a rear cover from the submersible". This comes after the US Coast Guard said: "a debris field was discovered within the search area by an ROV near the Titanic."

In an interview with Reuters, daughter of one of the five people inside the missing submersible, oceanographer Paul-Henri Nargeolet nicknamed “Mr Titanic” said she held hope they will be rescued but she is comforted by the knowledge that he is in the place he loved most.

Sidonie Nargeolet told Reuters she was living with "a lot of stress, very mixed emotions" as the search for the submersible entered a critical phase, on Thursday as the vessel might have run out of oxygen. 

"I really hope they will find them and safe. I think we have to trust what they are doing and be confident," the 39-year-old in the town of La Massana, Andorra told Reuters.

She had received text on Sunday from her father's spouse that he should be back by at 6:00 pm (local time). Her 77-year-old father had taken more than 35 dives to the wreck after spending two decades in the French Navy. 

Sidonie learned about the accident on Monday and said "I cried a lot," speaking about her reaction to the news. "He sent me a message a week before (getting in the submersible) telling me the weather was bad, so they hadn't been able to go down, but that there was a great atmosphere," she told Reuters. 

"I sent him a message on Sunday for Father's Day but he didn't reply," Sidonie told the news agency.

"A debris field was discovered within the search area by an ROV near the Titanic. Experts within the unified command are evaluating the information," said the US Coast Guard, in a statement. 

However, it was not immediately clear if this debris field is connected to the missing submersible. 

An official from the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Halifax of the Canadian Armed Forces told CNN, that a Canadian Navy ship carrying a medical team which specialises in dive medicine arrived on scene just after 9:00 am (local time). 

The team equipped with hyperbaric recompression chamber which can hold as many as six people arrived on the Navy's vessel HMCS Glace Gay to join the rescue efforts on Thursday morning. 

It was later confirmed by the Canadian officials in a statement who also said, "Canadian Coast Guard Ships (CCGS) John Cabot, Ann Harvey and Terry Fox are on hand and providing rescue equipment and personnel if assistance is needed." 

In an update, the Canadian officials said Royal Canadian Air Force's CP-140 Aurora aircraft from Greenwood, Nova Scotia is providing "continuous on-site support" with additional aircrew and resources.

While the The Aurora of the navy is equipped with "surface search and underwater acoustic detection capabilities," along with MRCC Boston are coordinating the search. 

In an interview with the UK-based media outlet Telegraph, family of British billionaire businessman Hamish Harding accused the tour provider OceanGate of delaying to report the missing submersible. 

A cousin of Harding, Kathleen Cosnett, said that the company took far too long” to issue an alarm about losing contact with the Titan. "It’s very frightening," said the 69-year-old. This comes as there was a reported eight-hour delay to the international search effort. 

"It’s very frightening. [It] took so long for them to get going to rescue [them], it’s far too long. I would have thought three hours would be the bare minimum," Cosnett told the Telegraph. 

The communications between the submersible and the surface vessel was lost at 9:45 am (local time) about an hour and 45 mins after the it began its descent to the Titanic wreck but the local authorities were not made aware of it till 5:40pm (local time)

The search for the missing Titan submersible is now in a critical stage, as rescue teams race to locate the vessel before oxygen supplies run out. The submersible begins each trip with 96 hours of life support and has been missing since Sunday, setting up Thursday morning as a key target for finding the vessel and those on board.

As of Thursday, the search has been turned into a multinational mission one with the US coast guard still focused on rescuing the five-member crew alive, despite fears that the vessel's oxygen may already have run out.

Guillermo Söhnlein, the co-founder of OceanGate, has finally spoken out about the missing sub, expressing his belief that the five crew members on board the Titan have more time than commonly assumed. Söhnlein, who established OceanGate alongside Stockton Rush, a passenger on the Titan, disclosed that he had a conversation with Rush a few weeks prior to the expedition's departure. Although Söhnlein is no longer actively involved with the company, he retains a minority share and shared his thoughts in a statement to Insider, as reported by the Guardian.

"Today will be a critical day in this search and rescue mission, as the sub’s life support supplies are starting to run low. I’m certain that Stockton and the rest of the crew realised days ago that the best thing they can do to ensure their rescue is to extend the limits of those supplies by relaxing as much as possible. I firmly believe that the time window available for their rescue is longer than what most people think. I continue to hold out hope for my friend and the rest of the crew," he said.

An expedition by adventure-enthusiasts to explore the Titanic wreckage has turned into a survival battle for people en route to the historic site. The search mission for the missing Titan submersible has been continuing since Sunday, with the oxygen supply present on the vessel dwindling each minute. Click here to read more. 

Shahzada Dawood and his son, Suleman, are among the five people who went missing after their submarine, which had set out to tour the remains of the Titanic, lost connection thousands of feet underwater. Click here to read the whole story. 

Downing Street has verified that the search mission for the Titanic sub will receive assistance from a Royal Navy submariner and equipment provided by a UK company. A spokesperson from No 10 stated that Lieutenant Commander Richard Kantharia possesses extensive expertise in submarine warfare and diving operations, reported the BBC. Additionally, a Royal Air Force C-17 transport aircraft is being prepared at RAF Lossiemouth, scheduled to depart for Canada later in the day carrying auxiliary equipment, likely cabling. No 10 clarified that this decision was made in response to a request from the US Coastguard.

A French robot that can dive to 20,000 feet (6,000 metres) underwater has reached the sub serach zone with the aim to locate the submersible that vanished as it descended to the Titanic wreck.

Marine geophysicist Dr Rob Larter from the British Antarctic Survey highlighted the immense challenge of locating a relatively small object like the 22-foot-long (6.5 meters) and 9-foot-high (almost 3 meters) submersible.

In dark underwater environments, even objects a few dozen feet away can be easily missed, creating a "needle in a haystack" scenario without an accurate location.

Dr Larter emphasised the crucial need for precise coordinates to increase the chances of finding the submersible in such difficult conditions, where visibility is limited, as reported by the Associated Press. 

OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush's wife, Wendy Rush, has a personal connection to the Titanic tragedy, as confirmed by archival records. Reports in the New York Times reveal that Wendy Rush is a great-great-granddaughter of Isidor Straus and his wife, Ida, who were affluent first-class passengers aboard the ill-fated ship in 1912. Isidor Straus, a prominent figure in the retail industry and co-owner of Macy's department store, tragically perished alongside his wife during the sinking of the Titanic. This family connection adds an emotional layer to the ongoing search for the missing submersible and intensifies the personal stakes involved in the rescue mission.

Mexican travel YouTuber, Alan Estrada, who embarked on a voyage aboard the now-missing submersible near the Titanic wreckage, expressed on Wednesday (June 21) that the expedition carried significant risks. Estrada, aboard the OceanGate Expeditions vessel based in the United States, visited the remains of the Titanic in 2022, following an unsuccessful attempt the previous year. Recalling his experience in an online interview, Estrada, the first Mexican to venture inside the Titan submersible, recounted how the mission in 2022 nearly faced cancellation due to a loss of communication with the support ship on the surface, emphasising the perilous nature of the journey, reported Reuters. 

Former OceanGate customer, who had reserved a spot on the Titan submersible for a Titanic wreckage tour, reveals reasons for cancelling the voyage due to concerning observations about the now-missing vessel. In an interview on CNN's The Lead With Jake Tapper, Chris Brown, a self-proclaimed "modern-day explorer," expressed his decision to scrutinise the risks associated with his early deposit payment in 2017. Brown noticed that OceanGate consistently failed to meet crucial depth milestones for the submersible, prompting him to cancel the trip.

He cited concerns about the company's approach to addressing risks beyond his control and their repeated inability to fulfil the promised depth targets within specified timelines, as reported by the Newsweek. 

The missing Titanic submersible and the high-stakes race against time in the rescue operation has captivated audiences worldwide. Recent data from the movie analytics site FlixPatrol indicates a significant surge in views of the Titanic movie's Wikipedia page, indicating the growing interest in the subject. People are flocking to learn more about the historical context and details surrounding the tragic sinking of the Titanic, drawing parallels between the real-life events and the iconic film that portrayed the disaster. The escalating rescue efforts and the suspenseful search for the missing submersible have intensified public fascination with the Titanic story.

Despite underwater banging sounds heard earlier, titan the missing submersible still remains untraceable. Its been more than 90 hours since the sub's descent. With no progress towards its recovery, survival chances of the explorer remain bleak.

Experts estimated that the Titan submersible embarked with a supply of 96 hours' worth of air, which meant that its oxygen reserves would probably be exhausted by Thursday morning. However, the actual duration of the remaining air relied on factors like the submersible's power status and the composure of its occupants. Nonetheless, the countdown to oxygen depletion presented a theoretical deadline, assuming that the missing vessel remained intact and had not become trapped or impaired in the unforgiving depths near the seabed, reported Reuters. 

French research vessel, Atalante, equipped with a deep-sea diving robot, has reduced its speed upon arrival at the search area where a submersible, investigating the Titanic wreckage, went missing. Marine Traffic data revealed that the Atalante is currently moving at a speed of 6 nautical knots and is positioned approximately 20 to 30 km away from the Polar Prince vessel, which transported the lost Titan submersible to the vicinity of the Titanic wreck. The slowdown in progress suggests that the French team is strategically positioning themselves to commence search operations in the immediate surroundings of the designated area, as reported by Reuters.