Por Michael Ruiz, Bradford Betz
Publicado el 22 de junio de 2023
The search for the missing OceanGate Titan submersible came to a tragic end Thursday when search-and-rescue teams discovered a "debris field" on the ocean floor near the wreck of the Titanic, where the crew was headed before losing contact with their surface vessel Sunday morning.
"The debris is consistent with the catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber. Upon this determination, we immediately notified the families," U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger told reporters. "On behalf of the United States Coast Guard and the entire unified command, I offer my deepest condolences to the families."
The announcement came hours after the USCG alerted the public that a robotic vehicle made the discovery.
En el recuadro, de izquierda a derecha: Suleman Dawood, Shahzada Dawood, Stockton Rush, Paul-Henry Nargeolet y Hamish Harding. Fondo: Una imagen del sumergible OceanGate Titan. (Engro Corporation, REUTERS Stapleton, Twitter, Felix Kunze/Blue Origin vía AP, Ocean Gate / Handout/Anadolu Agency vía Getty Images)
"A debris field was discovered within the search area by an ROV [remotely operated vehicle] near the Titanic," the USCG said just before noon. Experts were evaluating the information.
The Titan lost contact with its surface vessel, the Polar Prince, around one hour and 45 minutes into its dive Sunday morning, about 900 miles east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and around 400 miles southeast of St John's, in Canada's Newfoundland.
"We understand debris has been found which may be the landing frame and a rear cover of the tail instrument compartment of the Titan lost on previous dives," Richard Garriott, the president of the Explorers Club which had members on the missing sub, wrote to the group, according to a spokesman. "We hear there may be additional debris, but no updated visuals of the submersible."
Esta imagen de archivo facilitada por OceanGate muestra el sumergible Titán descendiendo en el océano. (Expediciones OceanGate)
En el interior del buque se encontraban el CEO de OceanGate, Stockton Rush el empresario británico convertido en aventurero Hamish Harding; Shahzada y Suleman Dawood, padre e hijo, miembros de una de las familias más ricas de Pakistán; y Paul-Henry Nargeolet, antiguo oficial de la marina francesa y destacado experto en el Titanic.
"These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans," OceanGate said in a statement. "Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time."
El contralmirante de la Guardia Costera de EEUU John Mauger habla durante una rueda de prensa de actualización sobre la búsqueda del sumergible desaparecido OceanGate Expeditions en Boston el jueves. REUTERSBrian Snyder)
The USCG headed a unified command that involved commercial assets, research vehicles and military counterparts from Canada, France and the U.K.
‘BANGING’ NOISES CONFIRMED IN DESPERATE DEEP-SEA SEARCH FOR MISSING TITAN SUB BUT SOURCE UNKNOWN
Los equipos de búsqueda y rescate pasaron la semana desplegando boyas de alta tecnología, ROV, buques de superficie y búsquedas aéreas en un esfuerzo por localizar el submarino desaparecido.
El ROV Odysseus 6k de Pelagic Research Services en una imagen de archivo. El ROV encontró un "campo de escombros" en la zona de búsqueda del sumergible desaparecido OceanGate Titan, cerca del Titanic, en el Atlántico Norte. (Servicios de Investigación Pelágica)
The ROVs will remain in the area to gather more information, Mauger said, but he said he could not estimate the prospects of whether the victims' remains could be recovered.
"This is incredibly unforgiving environment down there on the sea floor, and the debris is consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vessel, and so we'll continue to work and search the area down there, but I don’t have an answer," he said.
Equipo transportado por aviones de transporte de las Fuerzas Aéreas es cargado en el buque de alta mar Horizon Arctic antes de su despliegue en la zona de búsqueda de un sumergible desaparecido de OceanGate Expeditions en el puerto de St. John's, Terranova, Canadá, el martes. REUTERSDavid Hiscock)
Hasta el jueves por la mañana, se habían desplegado en el Atlántico varios ROV con capacidad para alcanzar el fondo oceánico a medida que disminuía el suministro inicial estimado de oxígeno de 96 horas del Titán -incluido el Victor 6000, que descendió del buque de investigación francés L'Atalante al el fondo oceánico.
A Canadian vessel, the Horizon Arctic, also deployed its ROV on Thursday morning, according to the USCG.
El Victor 6000 es un robot francés no tripulado que puede sumergirse hasta 6.000 metros. Tiene brazos que pueden controlarse a distancia para cortar cables o ayudar de otro modo a liberar una embarcación atascada, pero no tiene capacidad para elevar el sumergible por sí solo. (folleto del Ifremer vía EYEPRESS)
On Tuesday and Wednesday, Canadian pilots picked up repeated sounds during their search.
Carl Hartsfield, capitán retirado de la Marina y científico de la Institución Oceanográfica Woods Hole, dijo durante una sesión informativa de la USCG que los ruidos habían sido "descritos como golpes".
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Authorities did not elaborate and had not discovered their source on Wednesday.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/missing-titanic-submarine-found-crew-killed-deep-sea-catastrophe-coast-guard-says