OceanGate, the tour company which ran the missing Titan submersible vessel, has expressed belief that all five passengers on board the ship have died.
The tour company shared their beliefs in a statement released today (22 June), after the vessel first lost contact with its mothership on Sunday (18 June), when it went to explore the wreck of the Titanic.
Authorities believed there was approximately 96 hours worth of oxygen left on board at the time the submersible went missing, and that the passengers would have run out of oxygen at around 1pm BST today.
The search continued beyond the time when authorities believe the oxygen ran out, and the United States Coast Guard confirmed this afternoon that debris had been found in the search area off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.
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Rear Admiral John Mauger, of the US Coast Guard, said the tail cone of the Titan has been found close to the wreck of the Titanic, and that the debris discovered was 'consistent with a catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber'.
There were five people on board the sub, including OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, French marine expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet; British billionaire Hamish Harding, and British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son, Suleman.
In a statement addressing the suspected fate of the passengers, OceanGate said: "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." OceanGate continued: "The entire OceanGate family is deeply grateful for the countless men and women from multiple organizations of the international community who expedited wide-ranging resources and have worked so very hard on this mission.
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"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."
Featured Image Credit: American Photo Archive/Alamy/PA / OceangateTopics: Titanic, US News, World News, Technology