The US Coast Guard has announced the discovery of presumed human remains after recovering the debris of the Titan submersible which suffered a catastrophic implosion in the Atlantic.
Authorities recovered pieces of the vessel after it disappeared about 90 minutes after leaving its mothership to explore the Titanic on 18 June. There were five passengers on board at the time, all of who died after the vessel imploded.
Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate Expeditions, which conducted the trips into the Atlantic to explore the wreckage of the Titanic, was among those on board Titan.
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The other passengers have been identified as British businessman Hamish Harding; French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet; and Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son, Suleman.
Images released yesterday showed fragments of the vessel being pulled from the water after search teams discovered a debris field near the Titanic, which sits approximately 3,800m (12,500ft) in the north Atlantic, on Friday, 23 June.
The US Coast Guard said medical professionals will conduct a formal analysis of the presumed remains, the discovery of which comes after officials previously noted how tough it would be to recover any of the bodies due to the 'unforgiving environment' in the depths of the ocean.
The coast guard has also convened an investigation by the Marine Board of Investigation, the highest level of investigation it conducts, to look further into the implosion of the vessel.
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Coast Guard Capt. Jason Neubauer, who heads the investigative board, said the investigation aims to offer possible recommendations 'to the proper authorities to pursue civil or criminal sanctions as necessary'.
“The evidence will provide investigators from several international jurisdictions with critical insights into the cause of this tragedy,” Neubauer said in a statement on Wednesday.
A 'substantial amount of work' still needs to be done to 'understand the factors that led to the catastrophic loss of the Titan', Neubauer added, as well as to 'help ensure a similar tragedy does not occur again'.
"I am grateful for the coordinated international and interagency support to recover and preserve this vital evidence at extreme offshore distances and depths," he added.
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The investigation is set to analyse the debris pulled from the field, collect evidence and conduct interviews with witnesses to help build a better picture of the tragedy.
Authorities will also hold a public hearing for further witness testimony.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has also launched its own investigation into the incident, looking into whether 'criminal, federal, or provincial laws may possibly have been broken'.
Featured Image Credit: The Canadian Press / Alamy Stock Photo / American Photo Archive/Alamy/PA WireTopics: Titanic, World News