Yahoo News Titanic sub: Will the bodies from the submersible ever be recovered?
As investigations continue into what caused the Titan submersible to implode near the wreck of the Titanic, it is not known whether the bodies of whose who died will ever be found.
Watch: Debris from Titan submersible found near Titanic, crew presumed dead
With the announcement that remains of the missing Titan submersible have been discovered near the wreckage of the Titanic, tributes have poured in for those on board who died.
But questions remain as to whether the bodies of British explorer Hamish Harding, British businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, French submersible pilot Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and chief executive of OceanGate Expeditions Stockton Rush will ever be found.
In a press conference on Thursday evening, US Coast Guard officials said debris found was consistent with a 'catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber' and investigations would continue into what happened.
How many times did the Titan go to the Titanic?
According to reports, the Titan had made three previous expeditions to the Titanic wreck site.
OceanGate has reportedly previously stated that the Titan completed more than 50 test dives, including to depths similar to those of the Titanic, in waters around the Bahamas as well as in a pressure chamber.
But reports have emerged of previous issues with the submersible, leading to queries over its safety record.
Read More: Rescue teams searching for missing Titanic sub spotted mystery object on ocean’s surface (Independent, 4-min read)
What happens during a ‘catastrophic implosion’?
A catastrophic implosion is the sudden inward collapse of the vessel, as a result of the huge pressure it would have been under at the depths it was at.
The Titanic wreckage is almost 4,000m (13,000ft) below the surface and while it is not known how deep the Titan was when the implosion happened, it was around 1 hour and 45 minutes into its two-hour descent when it lost contact.
Watch: Titan submersible implosion highlights dangers of deep-sea tourism
Aileen Maria Marty, a former Naval officer and professor at Florida International University, told CNN that a catastrophic implosion would take just a fraction of a millisecond.
"The entire thing would have collapsed before the individuals inside would even realise that there was a problem," she told CNN.
"Ultimately, among the many ways in which we can pass, that’s painless."
Read More: Expert Who Begged Off a Titanic Sub Mission Saw an Implosion Coming (Daily Beast, 6-min read)
Will they find the bodies of the Titan?
Officials in the US have said they are "not sure" they can recover the bodies of the five people who died.
In a press conference in Boston on Thursday, Rear Admiral John Mauger told reporters he could not say what the prospects were of recovering the bodies.
He said: "This is an incredibly unforgiving environment down there on the sea floor and the debris is consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vessel.
"And so we’ll continue to work and continue to search the area down there, but I don’t have an answer for prospects at this time."
Read More: Former Titan submersible passenger who took 4 dives in it, including to the Titanic, said communication with the surface ship was lost 'every single time' (Insider, 3-min read)
Do we know what went wrong?
As the world awaits for answers on what went wrong with the Titan, investigations are underway to try to provide those answers for the families of those who died.
In Thursday's press conference, Rear Admiral Mauger said: "Our thoughts are with the families and making sure that they have an understanding as best as we can provide of what happened and begin to find some closure.
"In terms of the large process, we’re going to continue to investigate the site of the debris field and then I know that there’s also a lot of questions about how, why and when did this happen, and so those are questions that we will collect as much information as we can on now, while the governments are meeting and discussing what an investigation of this nature of a casualty might look like.
"This is something that happened, I’ll just remind everybody, this is something that happened in a remote portion of the ocean with people from, you know, several different countries around the world and so it is a complex case to work through but I’m confident that those questions will begin to get answered."
He said some of the vessels at the scene of the search would be demobilised, but remote operations on the sea floor will continue, and he did not have a timeline for when they would finish.
Asked about whether there should be changes to safety ratings or inspections, he said it would be the focus of a future review.
Read More: With the fate of those on Titanic-bound submersible known, focus turns to cause of fatal implosion (EuroNews, 6-min read)
Who built the Titan submersible?
The Titan submersible was built by private company OceanGate, which provides submersibles for commercial, research and military purposes and reportedly carries out yearly voyages that include paying tourists.
The Titan is is designed to carry up to five people - usually a pilot and four others - and is reportedly built to dive to depths of 13,123ft (4,000 meters) and travel at 3 knots (3.5 mph, or 5.6 km/h).
According to OceanGate's website, which has been taken down since the tragedy, tourists can pay $250,000 (£195,000) to join a trip.
OceanGate has released a statement calling the five victims "true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans".
Read More: Relatives of Titanic victims criticise dark tourism of Titan submersible expedition: ‘Let them rest’ (Independent, 4-min read)
