Update | Pilot, crew of Titan submersible believed to be dead, expedition company says

The pilot and four passengers of a missing submersible that disappeared en route to the wreckage of the Titanic are believed to be dead, the expedition company said Thursday.

Pilot and chief executive Stockton Rush, along with passengers Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet “have sadly been lost,” OceanGate Expeditions said in a statement.

OceanGate did not provide details when the company announced the “loss of life” in a statement or how officials knew the crew members perished.

The Titan's 96-hour oxygen supply likely ended early Thursday.

OceanGate has been chronicling the Titanic's decay and the underwater ecosystem around it via yearly voyages since 2021.

Later Thursday, US Coast Guard officials said the search had uncovered parts of the Titan consistent with an implosion.

The Coast Guard said the pieces were discovered within the search area by a remotely operated underwater robot.

The Titan was estimated to have about a four-day supply of breathable air when it launched Sunday morning in the North Atlantic — but experts have emphasised that was an imprecise approximation to begin with and could be extended if passengers have taken measures to conserve breathable air.

And it's not known if they survived since the sub's disappearance.

Follow The Gleaner on Twitter and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.