Eerie new audio has been released capturing the moment the ill-fated Titan submersible collapsed under pressure in the Atlantic Ocean, resulting in the death of all five passengers aboard. The chilling sound was detected by a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration device positioned about 900 miles from where the sub disappeared south of Newfoundland in June 2023.
US Coast Guard representatives released the haunting recording on Friday, describing it as the “suspected acoustic signature” of the vessel’s implosion, reports the Mirror. Tragically all those on the Titan perished.
They were British entrepreneur Hamish Harding, 58, ex-French navy diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77, Pakistani businessman and OceanGate CEO Stockton Rushton, 61. Philanthropist Shahzada Dawood, 48, also died on the vessel along with his son Suleman, 19, who was a student at Glasgow’s Strathclyde University.
The accident is currently under an investigation examining if the catastrophe could have been avoided. On June 18, 2023, the team aboard the deep-sea craft, managed by American firm OceanGate, dived to explore the Titanic wreckage.
However, communication was lost with the Titanic’s support ship, Polar Prince, almost two hours into their journey. An extensive search operation was swiftly initiated for the vessel, which had already reached a depth of 12,400ft below the North Atlantic – deeper than twice the Grand Canyon’s depth.
At that time, rescuers estimated the passengers had between 70 and 96 hours of oxygen left before supplies dwindled. Families of the crew were given a glimmer of hope after a haunting banging noise, believed to have come from the vessel, was detected, but it was later found to be inconclusive and possibly caused by debris from the Titanic or the submersible itself.
The wreckage of the sub was eventually discovered on the ocean floor, around 330 yards from the Titanic’s bow, and the Coast Guard confirmed all five people on board dead.
The tragedy raised concerns about the safety of the submersible, which had been visiting the Titanic wreck site since 2021, and it was later revealed it was being operated using a £42 video game controller available on Amazon. Experts previously warned OceanGate CEO Rush his “experimental” methods could lead to a “catastrophic” disaster.
In September, the Coast Guard held public hearings to question OceanGate executives about what went wrong, revealing a history of equipment issues, a lack of independent hull reviews, and a potential design flaw in the sub’s carbon fiber construction that may have contributed to the fatal implosion. A former employee also testified about safety concerns they raised before the tragedy.
Karl Stanley, the submersible pilot and designer of the Roatan Institute of Deepsea Exploration, made claims Rush’s desire to leave “his mark on history” overshadowed safety considerations. Stanley shared his concerns with the court: “He knew that eventually it was going to end like this, and he wasn’t going to be held accountable, but he was going to be the most famous of all his famous relatives.”
After sending emails to Rush about safety issues, such as cracking noises — which were ignored — Stanley remarked: “I felt also, this exchange of emails strained our relationship from what it had been previously. I felt like I pushed things as far as I could without him telling me to shut up and never talk to him again.”
Furthermore, Stanley pointed out the tragedy was not unforeseen by stating: “There was nothing unexpected about this. This was expected by everyone who had access to a little bit of information,” and suggested it might involve criminal elements due to Stockton’s overriding ambition.
“And I think that if it wasn’t an accident, it then has to be some degree of crime. And if it’s a crime, I think to truly understand it, you need to understand the criminal’s motive. The entire reason this whole operation started was Stockton had a desire to leave his mark on history.”
Meanwhile, Amber Bay, OceanGate’s director of administration, defended their position, stressing they would never prioritise risky dives over safety: “There definitely was an urgency to deliver on what we had offered and a dedication and perseverance towards that goal”.
Overcome with emotion, she tearfully recounted the harrowing event, saying: “I had the privilege of knowing the explorers lives who were lost, and there’s not a day that passes that I don’t think of them, their families and the loss.”
Following the catastrophic implosion in 2023, OceanGate, headquartered in Washington state, US, has halted all its operations.