The pilot and passengers of a submersible that went missing near the Titanic wreckage are believed to be dead, according to the US Coast Guard and the company that operated the vessel.
The news was announced on Thursday afternoon. It follows a hunt for the five-person crew, who left on a tourist expedition on Sunday.
“In consultation with experts in the unified command, the debris is consistent with the catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber,” a Coast Guard spokesperson said at a press conference. “Upon this determination, we immediately notified the families.”
“On behalf of the US Coast Guard and the entire unified command, I offer my deepest condolences to the families,” he continued. “I hope that this discovery provides some solace during this difficult time.”
The 22-foot craft disappeared on Sunday en route to the deep-sea wreckage of the Titanic, carrying a small crew with passengers who paid up to $250,000. The vessel was operated by OceanGate, a private company based in Washington state.
An international team using planes, ships, robots and buoys had frantically hunted for the submersible, contending with rough conditions and a search area roughly double the size of Connecticut. Experts said the craft likely had just 96 hours of oxygen, predicted to be exhausted some time on Thursday morning.
Underwater banging sounds were repeatedly detected, but rescuers were unable to find the Titan.
The vessel was carrying five people: The founder of OceanGate, Stockton Rush, who served as the pilot; Hamish Harding, a British businessperson and explorer who holds several Guinness World Records; Paul-Henri Nargeolet, a maritime expert who has been on nearly three dozen dives to the Titanic site; Shahzada Dawood, a British-Pakistani businessperson; and Dawood’s 19-year-old son, Suleman.