On Wednesday, the vessel Horizon Arctic delivered the wreckage of the bathyscaphe Titan to a Canadian island’s shores. The ill-fated journey of the Titanic claimed the lives of five individuals aboard the Titan. The ship also transported the presumed remains of the passengers, which will be a crucial focus of the official investigation.
According to the U.S. Coast Guard, the ship’s remains and wreckage were discovered approximately 700 kilometers away from the Canadian port of St. John’s. Formal analysis of the remains will now commence, aiming to provide investigators with vital insights into the causes of this tragedy, as stated by Jason Neubauer, the chairman of the Naval Investigative Group. He emphasized the necessity of comprehensively understanding all contributing factors to prevent a recurrence of such a tragic incident in the future.
The investigation involves the U.S. and Canadian Transportation Safety Boards, alongside the U.S. Coast Guard and Canadian law enforcement. These entities will examine the wreckage to ascertain the factors behind the sudden explosion that likely caused the OceanGate’s submarine crash and the loss of five lives.
Among the victims was Stockton Rush, the founder and CEO of OceanGate, who had previously acknowledged that unconventional materials were employed in constructing the Titan submarine.
CBC News reached out to maritime investigations expert Marc-Ande Poisson, who suggested that investigators would likely attempt to reconstruct the Titan as faithfully as possible. Based on their findings, they will establish a timeline of events and test hypotheses in laboratories. However, the investigation’s timeline has yet to be determined.
The crucial question remains whether the remains can aid in identifying specific passengers. Cybernetic medicine specialist Ken LeDez expressed some concerns regarding the identification of individual bodies in an interview with CBC. He stated that the possibility exists, but further information is needed, particularly regarding the timing of the explosion. Additionally, LeDez highlighted that no studies have been conducted to examine the effects of great depths on the human body.
