More and more details surrounding the Titan submersible disaster are coming to light thanks to a new Channel 5 documentary.
The Titan Sub Disaster: Minute by Minute follows the horrifying events which lead to the deaths of the five men on board the missing Titan submersible, who were on their way to see the wreck of the Titanic.
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Onboard the vessel were OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, 61, British billionaire Hamish Harding, 58, Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77, British-Pakistani billionaire Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his 19-year-old son Suleman.
The two-part documentary has now aired on Channel 5 and one expert has since suggested that Rush and Nargeolet might have known that something was wrong very early into their journey on 19 June, 2023.
Dik Barton, the former president of RMS Titanic Inc - and the first Brit to dive down to the wreck of the famous ship - recently told the Express: "There were five people on board, three of whom were effectively tourists, two were extremely able in deep water submersibles — particularly, PH Nargeolet, an extremely qualified and experienced submariner, a personal friend and a great mentor of mine.
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"He and Rush would've known exactly what was going on."
In an interview with LADbible, he also gave his verdict on what the banging noise rescuers heard were, during their search for the Titan sub.
"We've listened to it extensively and it's clearly a very mechanical noise," he said.
“It sounds like a chain that's slipping on a cog, or windlass, or some kind of wind system, which is highly possible because there's a huge amount of activity underwater and out in that ocean, that part of the sea.
“You've got submarine cable laying systems, you've got obviously the normal traffic. Even propeller noises can be misconstrued as all sorts of different indications.
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"Then the other important thing to understand is that the sound is mechanical, it has no urgency or stress to it, what you'd normally consider be associated with some kind of distress process.
"Mariners and submariners would use the SOS system to transmit the Mayday or some sort of pam pam, but it's very rhythmic.
“Then there's another aspect to this as well, which you have to consider is that it sounds like metal on metal, and there's nothing inside the Titan submersible that would have been an appropriate striking metal object."
A timeline of the Titan submersible disaster:
The Titan loses contact with support vessel
The Polar Prince loses contact with the Titan around one hour and 45 minutes into its descent on 18 June. A few hours after the submersible was supposed to resurface, the US Coast Guard received a report of an overdue submersible.
Search operation is launched
The US Coast Guard launch a large-scale operation on 19 June, 2023, when the vessel fails to resurface or make contact almost 24 hours on.
'Banging noises' are detected
Two days on from the Titan's disappearance on 21 June, 2023, sonar crews taking part in the search pick up 'banging noises', giving false hope that the passengers are still alive.
The Titan's oxygen supply 'runs out'
At 1pm E.T on 22 June, 2023, the submersible's 96-hour oxygen supply is predicted to have ran out, cementing fears for the crew onboard.
A 'debris field' is discovered, leading to the realisation of a 'catastrophic implosion'
The US Coast Guard confirms the Titan was destroyed by a ‘catastrophic implosion’ - a result of both enormous water pressure and failed materials - with the loss of all five people aboard.
Featured Image Credit: OceanGate/Becky Kagan Schott/Dawood FamilyTopics: Titan Submersible, Titanic, News, Channel 5