After debris from the Titanic-bound submarine arrived at an island off the border of Canada’s Atlantic coast, evidence found with it is set to be examined.
In a news release, the U.S. Coast Guard revealed that the findings are “presumed human remains.” Officials recovered it from the seafloor, where many believe the sub carrying five individuals who paid $250K to explore the sunken 1912 ship imploded. The Marine Board of Investigation intends to transport the evidence aboard a cutter and send it to a port in America, per the release. U.S. medical professionals will “conduct a formal analysis” on the possible remains.
“I am grateful for the coordinated international and interagency support to recover and preserve this vital evidence at extreme offshore distances and depths. The evidence will provide investigators from several international jurisdictions with critical insights into the cause of this tragedy,” MBI Chair Captain Jason Neubauer said in a statement. “There is still a substantial amount of work to be done to understand the factors that led to the catastrophic loss of the Titan and help ensure a similar tragedy does not occur again.”
On June 22, officials declared the five submarine passengers deceased: Stockton Rush, OceanGate Expeditions CEO; Hamish Harding, the billionaire owner of Action Aviation; Paul-Henry Nargeolet, a French dive expert; Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son, Suleman Dawood. Rush’s company was behind the expedition, which set course for the Titanic on Sunday (June 18). However, less than two hours into the mission, the sub’s mother ship lost contact with it.
Although many feared the passengers had run out of oxygen, debris on the seafloor near the ship revealed that the submarine suffered a catastrophic implosion. The families of the victims were notified. The MBI plans to continue collecting evidence on the Titan to inform a public hearing concerning the tragedy.