Explorer’s family seeks $50M for wrongful death in Titan submersible implosion

Aug. 7 (UPI) -- French explorer Paul Henry Nargeolet's family wants OceanGate to pay $50 million for the explorer's wrongful death due to the underwater implosion of a submersible used to view the Titanic.

The family's lawsuit filed in a court in Seattle accuses OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush and others of gross negligence and wrongful death after the experimental Titan submersible imploded and killed Nargeolet, Rush and three others on June 18, 2023.

The others killed are British adventurer Hamish Harding, Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman.

The family says Rush and others designed, built and operated the Titan submersible "in a manner outside the norms of the diving community and industry."

The family accuses Rush of having an "apparent obsession with being remembered for innovation alongside such luminaries as Steve Jobs and Elon Musk " and being a "maverick genius."

Nargeolet was a noted expert of the Titanic's sinking and accompanied the first underwater expedition to the shipwreck in 1987. He made many return trips prior to the fatal dive attempt in 2023.

OceanGate made him a part of its crew on the submersible, but his family says he never would have entered the submersible craft if he were aware of its shortcomings.

The Titan was made of carbon fiber, but Nargeolet was not an engineer, a submersible designer or a physicist and relied on Rush's alleged expertise regarding the vessel's seaworthiness and safety, his family says.

The family says Nargeolet and other Titan submersible crew members likely knew what was happening and were aware they would die when the vessel's captain tried to abort the mission.

The crew members likely endured "terror and mental anguish" when the vessel began cracking and springing leaks, the family says in the lawsuit.

Houston-based law firm Buzbee is representing Nargeolet's family and estate in the lawsuit.

Nargeolet had participated in 37 dives to the wreck of the Titanic and was the director of underwater research for RMS Titanic, which has the salvage rights for the vessel.

OceanGate suspended its operations after the tragedy.

The Titanic sank on its maiden voyage from England to the United States after striking an iceberg in 1912.

The U.S. Coast Guard has a formal hearing of its Marine Board of Investigation to examine the Titan implosion scheduled to start on Sept. 16.