Topics: Life, News, Real Life, US News, World News, Titan submersible
Over a year on from the catastrophic Titan submarine disaster which killed all five passengers onboard, followers of the story are still reeling from audio later released which detailed the victims' final moments.
A documentary premiered earlier this year, broadcasting the harrowing sounds for the first time and giving spectators an indication of the heartbreaking fate that befell those on board.
On 18 June last year, US marine discovery firm OceanGate carried five passengers down to the famous wreck of the Titanic, never to be seen again.
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The tiny craft - which had an inside space of just 22ft long and 9ft wide, with a height of a little over 8ft - vanished about 435 miles (700km) south of Newfoundland, Canada, after losing contact with its mothership.
Following a wide-ranging, week-long search, it was determined that a 'catastrophic implosion' of the Titan vessel had occurred after debris was discovered near the colossal shipwreck, and that all five passengers had tragically died.
Hamish Harding, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Shahzada Dawood, Suleman Dawood, and OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush were on board at the time.
The 2024 documentary, The Titan Sub Disaster: Minute by Minute - which aired on Channel 5 back in March - explained that a rhythmic banging noise was at one point heard during the search, giving some hope that those who were on board might be alive.
These hope-inducing sounds were picked up by the Canadian Air Force every 30 minutes, leading some experts to believe that passengers were signalling for help.
The documentary also informed viewers that the US Navy had picked up another sound around the same time, which they believed to be the submarine's implosion, and implying the banging sounds later heard couldn't have been a sign of life.
Discussion surrounding the devastating audio comes as the US Coast Guard recently shared the last words heard from the crew of the Titan submersible.
The chilling revelation was made on the very first day of what is expected to be a two-week hearing on the causes of the fatal implosion.
According to the life-saving group, the crew on board the Titan sub had been communicating with staff on board their support vessel, named the Polar Prince, by messages prior to losing contact.
It was only after an exchange of repeated inquiries about the submersible's depth and weight as it descended that the final audio was reportedly heard.
After the Polar Prince repeatedly asked if the Titan could still see the ship on its onboard display, the sub informed them they were 'all good here' in a response that was increasingly 'spotty' as the ship descended.
According to Jason Neubauer - of the Coast Guard Office of Investigations, who is fronting the ongoing hearing - the investigation is aimed to 'uncover the facts surrounding the incident and develop recommendations to prevent similar tragedies in the future'.
"There are no words to ease the loss endured by the families impacted by this tragic incident," he said earlier this year.
"But we hope that this hearing will help shed light on the cause of the tragedy and prevent anything like this from happening again."
