Are The OceanGate ‘Titan’ Submarine Passengers Dead? All 5 People Onboard Sadly Didn’t Survive

What was supposed to be an adventure turned tragic – all the five OceanGate Titan submersible passengers are believed to be dead.

The OceanGate Expedition submersible named Titan went missing on Sunday (18 June 2023) while venturing into the depths of the North Atlantic Ocean to view the Titanic wreckage.

The passengers on the vessel were OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, his son Suleman Dawood, Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet and British billionaire Hamish Harding, who serves as chairman for Action Aviation.

Exactly five days after, a new development suggests all the members onboard couldn’t survive. So, were the people on the OceanGate Titan found? Read on for more.

Are the Titan submarine passengers dead?

OceanGate has announced that the five people onboard a missing submersible have died.

“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,” the company said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE.

“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,” the statement continued.

In a press conference on Thursday, the U.S. Coast Guard confirmed that an ROV discovered debris 1,600 feet from the bough of the tailbone of the ‘Titanic’ wreckage on the sea floor.

The Coast Guard said that the debris that they found was consistent with the catastrophic loss of pressure in the ‘Titan’ chamber.

“This is an extremely sad time for our dedicated employees who are exhausted and grieving deeply over this loss,” read the company statement. “The entire OceanGate family is deeply grateful for the countless men and women from multiple organisations of the international community who expedited wide-ranging resources and have worked so very hard on this mission.”

“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,” the statement concluded. “We respectfully ask that the privacy of these families be respected during this most painful time.”

The Coast Guard announced just before 12 p.m. ET on Thursday that a remotely-operated vehicle (ROV) had discovered “a debris field” within the search area near the Titanic.

OceanGates’s statement was shared shortly before the conference began.

The search for the Titan began shortly after the sub “lost all communication” with Canadian expedition vessel Polar Prince “approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes” into its dive, United States Coast Guard Captain Jamie Frederick said at a press conference in Boston on Tuesday.

The Titan was equipped with an estimated 96 hours of oxygen at the start of the expedition, according to Frederick.

All five passengers on the OceanGate Titan submersible are confirmed dead

In a statement released after the tragic news was shared, the Explorers Club shared a statement mourning the loss of the five men.

“Our hearts are broken. I am so sorry to have to share this tragic news. Our friends and fellow Explorers Club members Hamish Harding and Paul-Henri Nargeolet are lost, along with Stockton Rush, Shahzada Dawood, and his son Suleman, while trying to reach the RMS Titanic,” read a statement from President Richard Garriott de Cayeux that was obtained by PEOPLE.

 “Hamish Harding is a dear friend to me personally and to The Explorers Club. He holds several world records and has continued to push dragons off maps both in person and through supporting expeditions and worthy causes. Paul-Henri was elected to the Club in 2001 and was one of the foremost experts on submersible expeditions to the Titanic. They were both drawn to explore, like so many of us, and did so in the name of meaningful science for the betterment of mankind,” the president added. “They pushed themselves in their entrepreneurial pursuits as they did in exploration. Stockton Rush was a friend of The Explorers Club and conducted lectures at our headquarters.”

“While we did not know Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman personally, their desire to explore as a family would have led them to our doorstep at some point in their futures, where we would have welcomed them,” the statement continued. “We’re heartbroken for the families, friends and colleagues of those who were lost. Their memories will be a blessing and will continue to inspire us in the name of science and exploration.”

FAQ

Are the Titan submarine passengers dead?

All five people aboard the Titan submersible are believed to be dead, and debris discovered in the search area was consistent with a “catastrophic implosion,” the U.S. Coast Guard said.

Has the OceanGate Titan been found?

Pieces of the missing Titan vessel were found on the ocean floor, about 1,600 feet from the bow of the Titanic, the Coast Guard said. OceanGate Expeditions, the vessel’s operator, said, “Our hearts are with these five souls.”

Who were the people on the OceanGate?

OceanGate Expeditions said in a statement that all five people on board, including company CEO Stockton Rush, are believed to be dead. Rush, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet “have sadly been lost,” OceanGate said in a statement.

Will they find bodies from the Titan?

After five frantic days of searching, “major pieces” of the Titan have been found near the Titanic wreck – with all five men who were on board the submersible presumed dead. The US Coast Guard said the breakthrough was made by a remotely-operated vehicle (ROV) that had been scouring the ocean floor.

Who owns OceanGate Titan?

The company was founded in 2009 by Stockton Rush and Guillermo Söhnlein. OceanGate Inc. In 2021, OceanGate began taking paying tourists, in its Titan submersible, to visit the wreck of the Titanic. As of 2022, the price to be a passenger on an OceanGate expedition to the Titanic shipwreck is US$250,000 per person.

Who are the 5 people on board the missing sub?

OceanGate said in a June 22 statement that they “now believe” that all five people on board—company CEO Stockton Rush as well as passengers Hamish Harding, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Shahzada Dawood, and his 19-year-old son Suleman Dawood—”have sadly been lost.”

Who is the CEO of OceanGate?

OceanGate founder and CEO Stockton Rush is married to Wendy Rush, the great-great-granddaughter of Isidor and Ida Straus, who choose to remain onboard the sinking Titanic together so that others could escape to safety in their place.

Was the owner of OceanGate on the submarine?

The missing Titanic submarine owner admitted his biggest fear was getting stuck underwater in the submersible. OceanGate Expeditions founder and CEO Stockton Rush, who is among the five missing aboard the Titan submarine, made the haunting confession after claiming there were no safety concerns regarding his vessel.

Has OceanGate gone to the Titanic before?

The company has completed a number of dives to the bottom of the North Atlantic. At least 28 people visited the Titanic with OceanGate last year, according to a November court filing from an adviser to the company.

Where is OceanGate’s CEO from?

Among those on board, the OceanGate Expeditions vessel was Stockton Rush, a Seattle resident and the founder and CEO of the Everett-based company.