HORRIFIC FIND
Titanic sub rescue boss fights back tears as he relives heartbreaking moment they found wreckage with ‘human remains’
THE leader of the Titanic sub rescue effort fought back tears as he re-lived the heartbreaking moment his team discovered Titan's mangled wreckage.
Edward Cassano, chief executive of Pelagic Research Services (PRS), spoke at a press conference on Friday about the recovery of the doomed Titan submersible earlier this week.
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The sub is believed to have imploded on June 18, shortly after losing communications with its support ship, killing all five passengers on board.
A visibly emotional Mr Cassano said: "Our system was launched from the back deck and began to descend to the sea floor.
"Shortly after arriving on the sea floor, we discovered the debris of the Titan submersible.
"Of course we continued to document the site and by 12pm sadly a rescue turned into a recovery.
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"I have to apologise, we’re still demobilising. There’s a lot of emotions, people are tired."
PRS are a private company specialising in deep-sea Remote Operated Vehicles (ROVs).
One of their remote vehicles was lost during the search effort after it descended beyond its maximum depth in the desperation of the search.
The team hoped to "latch onto" Titan in order to lift it up using reinforced steel cable, but it was too deep on the ocean floor.
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It is believed that by the time rescuers began the search, the passengers were already dead.
Mr Cassano added: "We are very saddened we could not recover a viable sub, but beyond that the system performed."
The US Coast Guard is currently working to identify the suspected human remains found by search teams on Wednesday.
However, there was of the five men on board as the search was called off, meaning they are unlikely to be able to recover the bodies of their loved ones.
The passengers have been named as British billionaire Hamish Harding, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleiman Dawood, as well as Stockton Rush, the CEO of the company running the trip, and pilot Paul-Henri Nargeolet.
They were the subjects of an international multi-day rescue effort after losing contact with their support ship just an hour and 45 minutes into the dive on June 18.
However, this was tragically found to be in vain as it is believed that the vessel suffered an implosion when communications dropped out, killing them all instantaneously.
OceanGate, the company that operated the sub, has faced questions over the safety of the vessel.
One deep-sea explorer claimed that he had pointed out a number of flaws in the craft's design but was alarmed by the "cavalier attitude" taken by staff.
Likewise, a submarine expert suggested seven clues that the wreck will reveal, including hidden cracks and faulty wiring.
Concerns have included the fact that Titan was steered by a budget video game-style controller and the lack of a GPS system.
It comes after it was revealed that the moment the sub began its ill-fated descent was captured on a video by a crew member.
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Meanwhile, the aunt of 19-year-old passenger Suleiman Dawood claimed that he was "terrified" about the trip, but went on it to please his dad, who was a passionate explorer.
Suleiman was studying at Strathclyde University in Glasgow, , while his father was a successful businessman.
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