The world is in great shock after the Titan Submarine tragedy. The submarine, on its daring expedition to the Titanic shipwreck site, descended to a depth of 13,000 feet beneath the sea’ surface. But not a single person could have imagined that things would take such a drastic turn, resulting in everybody’s death.
Now, in the latest development, a report by Spanish outlet NIUS, Spanish Engineer and underwater expert Jose Luis Martin has shed light on the final moments of the people around. He offered a detailed timeline of events that led to this tragedy. As per his analysis, an electrical fault occurred during the controlled immersion. Due to this, the thrust for the craft was lost. As a result, the submersible was unable to maintain its longitudinal stability and it began to plummet towards the seafloor.
He also added that the five people who perished aboard the OceanGate submersible were likely aware of the impending implosion between 48 and 71 seconds before it occurred, according to an expert who likened the scenario to a horror movie. The pilot (OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush) couldn’t activate the emergency lever to drop weights (return to the surface), the expert said, adding that the lever was an inadequate device for such an emergency.
The Titan changed position and falls like an arrow vertically because the 400 kilos of passengers that were at the porthole unbalanced the submersible, he wrote. “Everyone rushes and crowds on top of each other. Imagine the horror, the fear, and the agony. It had to be like a horror movie, added the expert, who believes that everything happened during 48-71 seconds of free fall.
During that time, the group was aware of the seriousness of the situation, he said. “In that period, they are realizing everything. And what’s more in complete darkness. It’s difficult to get an idea of what they experienced in those moments”.
The expert also said any small leak at the extreme depth would have sent water gushing in at a speed of about 620 mph, killing everyone instantly.
OceanGate CEO and Titan pilot Stockton Rush 61, French Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet 77, British Billionaire Hamish Harding, 58, prominent Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his 19-year-old son, Sulaiman Dawood, all died in the disaster.
For now, OceanGate has suspended all exploratory and commercial operations amid intense criticism of Rush for what some perceive as lax attitudes about safety that may have contributed to the accident.
