The famous bow of the Titanic , immortalized on screen by Jack and Rose in James Cameron's Oscar-winning film, has finally given way to over a century of decay .
Fresh images of the ill-fated liner, which struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic and sank , taking 1,500 lives in 1912, reveal the loss of a section of the railing where the iconic scene was filmed.
Underwater robots found a 14.7ft piece of port side railing resting on the ocean floor . Tomasina Ray, director of collections at RMS Titanic Inc, who led the expedition, remarked: "The bow of Titanic is just iconic. You have all these moments in pop culture and that's what you think of when you think of the shipwreck.
"And it doesn't look like that any more. It's just another reminder of the deterioration that's happening every day. People ask all the time, 'How long is Titanic going to be there?' We just don't know, but we're watching it in real-time."
The bow was featured in the scene from the 1997 film where Jack, portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio, had his "king of the world" moment.
The railings also appeared in the 1953 Titanic film starring Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Wagner. It's thought that the decaying section of railing detached from the wreck sometime in the last two years.
RMS Titanic Inc posted: "From films to literature, TITANIC's looming hull has become a staple in the story and imagery of the great liner."
"For decades, the bow was a testament to the resilience of her strength and pride. The drastic change in the celebrated image is a reminder that TITANIC is deteriorating, advancing our resolve to preserve her legacy."
During expeditions in July and August by RMS Titanic Inc, remotely operated vehicles captured over two million images and 24 hours of high-definition footage. They also pinpointed the exact location of a statue that once graced the first-class lounge of the Belfast-built ship.
The 2ft bronze of Roman goddess Diana, modelled on a sculpture in the Louvre, was dislodged from a mantelpiece as the ship sank on its maiden voyage.
It was photographed on the sea bed in 1986 but its precise location remained a mystery until this summer. RMS Titanic Inc, whose mission is to preserve the ship's legacy, is contemplating retrieving the statue.
This expedition took place while the US Coast Guard continued their investigation into the implosion of the Titan, a submersible owned by another company that conducted trips to the wreck, last year. All five people on board perished, including Paul-Henri Nargeolet, who was director of underwater research for RMS Titanic.
RMS Titanic stated that the findings from this summer's expedition "showcase a bittersweet mix of preservation and loss".
Five years ago, after the first manned voyage discovered the ship's hull had partially collapsed, Titanic historian Park Stephenson described the deterioration as "shocking".
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