Titan Implosion: First Image of Small Submersible Wreck at Seabed Revealed, Investigation Continues

This Monday, September 16, 2024, the auditions of employees of the company that owns the Titan submersible, which imploded in June 2023, have begun. An image of the wreck has been released.

Nearly 15 months ago, the small submersible Titan imploded near the famous Titanic liner, with five people on board, including Frenchman Paul-Henri Nargeolet. The investigation is continuing to determine the exact circumstances of this tragedy, including hearings from employees of OceanGates, the company that operated the Titan, reports BFMTV.

“Tout va bien”

During a hearing held this Monday, a photo of the wreck was revealed. This is the first image of the Titan at the bottom of the water.

This photo, relayed by our colleagues at Sky News, was taken in June 2023 using a remote-controlled device of Pelagic Research Services, a company specializing in research on the seabed. The back of the small submersible that imploded is clearly visible. The photo was taken in the area where other debris from the Titan submarine was found.

However, today's hearing provided more insight into what happened on the day of the tragedy. “Everything is fine” were reportedly the last words used by members aboard the Titan.

Another piece of information was revealed during the hearing, by former OceanGate CEO Tony Nissen. The Titan had been struck by lightning in 2018, he said. Somebody did it well enough to make it seem plausible, and that was when it was believed to be a bomb. The Titan had been struck by lightning in 2018, he said. Somebody did it well enough to make it seem plausible, and that was when it was believed to be a bomb. catastrophic” of the aircraft. The five individuals had lost their lives in a matter of seconds.

More than a year after the tragedy, the New York Times revealed this Monday, June 10, that the transcription of the last communications between the submarine and its flagship, broadcast on the Internet, had been falsified.

This false transcription between the submersible and the Polar Prince, appeared and was widely relayed on the Internet a few days after the announcement of the implosion of the craft. Several people had then expressed doubts about the veracity of the communications, on TikTok or Youtube.

The New York Times revealed that the transcript released on the web “contained specialized acronyms on Titan, the first name of an expert on the mothership and credible representations of the submersible's descent. In short, the detailed report had an air of authenticity”. And it was all of those specific explanations that helped give this document its veracity.

"Somebody did it well enough that it seemed plausible", said Jason Neubauer, chairman of the Marine Board of Investigation. He stated that it was   "a false transcript"  and that consequently there was no evidence that the passengers of the plane were warned of the implosion of the plane.