The first picture of the Titan submersible lying on the ocean floor has been released a little over a year after its horrific implosion killed all five members aboard .
The image, captured by a remotely operated vehicle during the search for the five crew members after the horrific incident , shows the aft tail cone positioned upright in the mud at 3,775m deep next to other debris. The eerie photo was released as the first day of a hearing looking into the tragedy began Monday and is expected to last two weeks.
The hearing is being held in Charlestown, South Carolina by the US Coast Guard. On Monday, officials revealed the last message from the Titan was "all good here" while it was 3,341m deep. The message, sent at 10:47 a.m. read: "dropped two wts"
The submersible pinged for the final time about six seconds after that message went out, it was about 3,346m deep. The Polar Prince mothership reported the crew gave no signs of trouble on board the Titan. Two recovery operations later, searchers recovered "presumed human remains" from the ocean floor.
The findings were taken back to shore and matched with the profiles of the five people aboard the submersible. The Polar Prince realized the gravity of the situation around 10:49 a.m. when it sent a message to the crew saying it "lost tracking." The mother ship spammed the Titan with messages in short intervals of two to three minutes to no avail.
By 11:45 a.m.. it was made clear that there was a loss of communication. Search and rescue crews would soon recover the remains British explorer Hamish Harding, British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, OceanGate’s CEO Stockton Rush and French deep-sea explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet.
The Polar Prince spent about three hours searching for the deep-sea vessel before calling the coast guard at 6:27 p.m. The explorers reportedly knew they would die after a final hail mary to save themselves, according to a bombshell new lawsuit. OceanGate, which is the company that crafted the Titan, offered its "deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of those who died" in a statement.
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The spokesperson said: "There are no words to ease the loss endured by the families impacted by this tragic accident." The search for the submersible attracted worldwide attention, as it became increasingly unlikely that anyone could have survived the implosion. Wreckage of the Titan was subsequently found on the ocean floor about 300 meters (330 yards) off the bow of the Titanic, Coast Guard officials said.
The time frame for the investigation was initially a year, but the inquiry has taken longer. The Coast Guard said in July that the hearing would delve into "all aspects of the loss of the Titan," including both mechanical considerations as well as compliance with regulations and crewmember qualifications. The Titan had been making voyages to the Titanic wreckage site going
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