Featured Image Credit: BBC
Topics: Titanic, US News, World News
Claire Reid
This is the moment that the OceanGate co-founder learnt that debris had been found during the search for the missing Titan submersible.
Guillermo Söhnlein founded OceanGate with Stockton Rush in 2009 and appeared on BBC News to talk about the search, when he was told some pieces of the sub had been found on the seafloor.
In the footage, the BBC journalist can be heard telling him that he has just been informed that ‘some debris has been found’.
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Söhnlein then replied: “I'm sorry, some what has been found?”
To which the journalist said: “I understand some debris has been found. I’m really sorry I don’t have any more details than that.”
The camera then cut back to Söhnlein, who responded: “I’m not sure… obviously because I’m hearing it for the first time now - but I know that our protocol for lost comms is for the pilot to surface the sub."
The Titan sub vanished shortly after it set off to go and explore the Titanic on Sunday (June 18).
On board was OceanGate CEO Rush as well as Hamish Harding, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood.
Yesterday (22 June), the US Coast Guard confirmed that debris had been found, with ‘five major pieces’ discovered.
Speaking during a press conference in Boston, Rear Admiral John Mauger said: “This morning, an ROV, or remote operated vehicle from the vessel Horizon Arctic discovered the tail cone of the Titan submersible approximately 1,600ft from the bow of the Titanic on the sea floor.
“The ROV subsequently found additional debris.
“In consultation with experts from within the unified command, the debris is consistent with the catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber.
“Upon this determination, we immediately notified the families.
“On behalf of the United States Coast Guard and the entire unified command, I offer my deepest condolences to the families. I can only imagine what this has been like for them.
“And I hope that this discovery provides some solace during this difficult time.”
Mauger added: "This is an incredibly unforgiving environment down there on the seafloor and the debris is consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vessel.
"We will continue to work and we will continue to search down there but I don't have an answer for prospects at this time."
Undersea expert Paul Hankin said: “We found five different major pieces of debris that told us that it was the remains of the Titan.
“The initial thing we found was the nose cone which was outside of the pressure hull.
“We then found a large debris field.
“Within that large debris field we found the front-end bell of the pressure hull. That was the first indication that there was a catastrophic event.
“Shortly thereafter we found a second smaller debris field. Within that debris field we found the other end of the pressure hull – the aft end bell – which basically comprises the totality of that pressure vessel.
“We continue to map out the debris field, and as the admiral said, we will do the best we can to fully map out what’s down there.”