Almost here for a week the whole world with bated breath is following the fate of the bathyscaphe "Titan", which went to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean to the sunken "Titanic". There were 5 passengers on board and today, June 23, it became known that they all died. Read more in USA.ONE:
The tragic story of the bathyscaphe "Titan"
And also all about the search and rescue operation and the people inside.
How did it all start? 
In the world media, the news about the bathyscaphe "Titan", which went with tourists to the sunken "Titanic" from the port of Newfoundland, appeared on the evening of Sunday, June 18, when it became known that communication with him was cut off. The situation was aggravated by the fact that there were 2 billionaires on board, whose total fortune is estimated at $ 10 billion.
They are British businessman Hamish Harding, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleiman. In addition to them, the mission was attended by the CEO and founder of OceanGateInc, who personally developed and operated the Stockton Rush bathyscaphe. As well as the leading expert in the study of the wreckage of "Titanic", French scientist Paul-Henri Narjolet. All members of the expedition paid $250,000 to be on board.
Bathyscaphe arrived by water, accompanied by the ship Polar Prince to the place of death "Titanic" early in the morning on June 18, starting the dive at 4 am local time. After 1 hour 45 minutes, communication with him was lost. Then there was no panic, because during the previous dives "Titan" this has already happened to the sunken liner and there was no communication for several hours. To go down to "Titanic" to a depth of 3800 meters, the bathyscaphe took 3 hours, and the entire mission, including descent, exploration and ascent, took 8 hours. But not this time.
What happened next? 
By Sunday evening, it became clear that "Titan" and the people in it need help. Communication with the ship was not restored and it did not rise to the surface. Experts speculated that the bathyscaphe could get stuck in the wreckage of the "Titanic" or parts of the terrain and lose the ability to emerge. According to all calculations, oxygen on board should have been enough for 96 hours, that is, until noon on Thursday, June 22. Everyone around remained optimistic.
On June 19, the US Coast Guard, based in Boston, launched a massive search and rescue operation on a ship escorted by a Royal Canadian Air Force aircraft. Several governments and companies at once announced their desire to help with the search for the bathyscaphe's crew. The task was complicated by the remoteness and inaccessibility of the place, weather conditions, lack of light at night, the state and temperature of the water. Underwater search was added to the surface search with the help of echo sounders, sonars and sonars. The mission involved 4 aircraft from Canada and 2 from the USA.
By the morning of June 20, rescuers had combed 10,000 square miles. The pipe-laying vessel "Deep Energy" with the equipment needed to dive to the bottom of the ocean. By Tuesday evening, experts and systems for lifting large, heavy objects, an aircraft of the National Air Guard and 2 more aircraft were working on the spot. In addition, 6 ships with remotely controlled underwater vehicles were involved. There were medical personnel on duty and a decompression chamber waiting in the wings.
Glimpses of hope 
At the same time, on June 20, one of the passengers of the bathyscaphe unexpectedly contacted Facebook, writing that he was fine and wanted to thank all the caring people who tried to contact him:
"Your offers of help are amazing and show real human kindness. Please be aware that our internet capacity is limited at this time in order to conserve bandwidth for our rescue efforts. Information and updates will be posted as they become available," he wrote.
But the forwarder never got in touch again. In addition, it turned out that he was Rory Golden — the first Irish diver to visit the wreck of the & # 34; Titanic & # 34; back in 2000. He was not among the declared crew members of the missing bathyscaphe.
By this time, it also became known that the sonar of the Canadian ship recorded the sound of a knock, repeating from the depths once every half hour. All the efforts of the search and rescue mission were thrown into the search for its source. Researcher and friend of Hamish Harding, Chris Brown, wrote that the uproar that broke the news is the work of a British billionaire:
"This is exactly what I expected from him. If the noise is continuous, no one will pick it up. But if it comes from the depths every half hour, it will be detected, because there is a possibility that it comes from people trapped in a death trap. I'm sure they all save energy and oxygen because it's very dark and cold there."
"There is every reason to believe that signs of life were found at the place of the loss of the bathyscaphe", representatives of the "Club of Explorers" organization, whose members were two of the five passengers "Titan" ;.
However, the rescuers failed to find the source of the noise, which repeated for at least 4 hours. According to experts, even the outer space has been studied better than the seabed.
"We have the most detailed maps of Mars, but the ocean floor is only 20% explored."
And yet, time and hope to find the bathyscaphe remained, as did the supply of oxygen on board. To save it, according to experts, passengers had to minimize talking and breathing, not panic, move less, be silent and starve. This could improve their chances of survival.
Grim predictions and the denouement of history 
However, by Wednesday, June 21, less and less optimistic forecasts began to be voiced. Experts began to suggest that unfortunate tourists would face a painful death if the oxygen on board ran out before they were found and brought to the surface.
CBS correspondent David Pogue, who took part in the "Titan" last year, reported that without outside help, people would not be able to get out of the bathyscaphe. According to him, passengers inside the capsule are closed from the outside with bolts and then removed. In addition, the vessel has 7 different functions that allow it to drop the ballast and rise to the surface within a day after the dive. Why this did not happen is still unclear. If the bathyscaphe got a hole or got stuck on the bottom, people have no chance of saving.
"There is no backup, no life pod," — said Pog.
Television comedy writer Mike Reis, who also took a bathyscaphe to the "Titanic" last year, told:
"I know the logistics there. How huge is the ocean and how small is the bathyscaphe. If it is at the very bottom, it will be very difficult to access it, let alone bring it to the surface."
David Pogue recalls that he did not dare to climb aboard &# 34;Titanium, because he got the impression that some of its components were being prepared for use as an improvisation. Then the developers and owners of the bathyscaphe assured him that the capsule was created jointly with NASA and the University of Washington and it was "reliable as a rock".
Mike Reis added that "Titan" — a beautifully designed bathyscaphe, but due to the nature of the expedition, problems may arise.
"This does not mean that the ship is bad. It's just that these are new technologies that are being studied during operation."
According to Professor of University College London Alistair Greig, if the bathyscaphe is at the very bottom and cannot rise on its own, then there are few options left:
"A submersible may be intact, but if it lies at a depth of more than 2000 meters, there are only a few ships in the world that can go down there. But they also lack the power to tow the bathyscaphe to the surface."
Alas, yesterday, June 22, one of the Odysseus research submersibles discovered the wreckage of the bathyscaphe "Titan" 488 meters from the bow "Titanic". A support frame and a rear hatch were presumably found. The body itself has not yet been discovered. The debris field and their condition indicate catastrophic destruction. All crew members are declared dead due to implosion — an explosion directed inward due to the enormous pressure of the water. Bathyscaphe instantly squeezed like a tin can. The death of people was instantaneous.
OceanGateInc issued an official statement:
"We believe that our CEO Stockton Rush, Hamish Harding, Paul-Henri Narjolet, Shahzada Davud and his son Suleiman have unfortunately died. They were true explorers who shared a spirit of adventure and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world's oceans. Our hearts are with the souls of these 5 people and their families at this tragic time. We mourn the loss of lives and the joy they brought to all they knew."
No bodies have been found at this time, and given the harsh conditions on the ocean floor, it is not known if any will be found. ever.
Bathyscaphe issues 
Five-seater "Titan" With a length of about 7 meters and a weight of 10432 kg, according to the company, it is capable of descending to a depth of 4 km and supporting the life of passengers for 96 hours. Despite the strength of the structure, there were many questions about the bathyscaphe long before the ill-fated dive.
For example, he worked in international waters and was not subject to security rules. The bathyscaphe was not certified as a seaworthy vessel, and passengers, boarding, signed a paper stating that they knew that the vessel was experimental, not certified and could lead to physical injury, disability and even death. Only on the first page of this document the word "death" mentioned three times.
In 2018, David Lockridge, Director of Marine Operations at OceanGateInc, wrote a report with concerns about the safety of "Titan". According to the document, the porthole of the bathyscaphe was certified only to a depth of 1300 meters, which is 3 times less than the location of "Titanic". In addition, the company refused to carry out inspection of the ship's hull before diving, which is allegedly impossible due to the thickness of the hull.
At a symposium of submarine experts in the same 2018, OceanGateInc was accused of operating the bathyscaphe beyond its technical capabilities. The problem was not only in some one defect of "Titan", but also in the fact that the company refused to certify the design, manufacture and testing of the submarine.
Filmed last year a documentary about "Titan" Simon Platts said that OceanGateInc CEO and founder Stockton Rush made no guarantees that passengers would see the remains of the Titanic during the dive, but warned that it was a dangerous adventure. According to him, the bathyscaphe was controlled using innovative technologies that could sometimes fail.
The Marine Technology Society committee, including ocean engineers and technologists, wrote a letter to Stockton Rush, criticizing him for his unwillingness to consult with experts from specialized agencies and assess possible risks. To which Rush replied that the regulation of the industry slows down innovation and does not allow them to develop.
According to NBC, in 2020, the bathyscaphe showed signs of "cyclic fatigue", with which the CEO of OceanGateInc himself agreed. The ship could only safely dive to a depth of 3000 meters, while the wreckage of "Titanic" are at around 3800 meters.
What is known about the members of the expedition? 
The bathyscaphe was created and piloted by the CEO and founder of OceanGateInc, Stockton Rush. The 61-year-old designer and entrepreneur hoped to explore the wreckage of the "Titanic", passing on the knowledge he gained to his descendants. During the expedition, DNA samples were to be collected. That is why he was the initiator of the submersion of the bathyscaphe to the bottom.
"The ocean takes the ship. We need to document this before everything disappears or is no longer recognizable," said Rush.
As a child, Stockton dreamed of conquering Mars. He trained as a pilot and built an experimental aircraft Glasair III, which he himself flew. He took up underwater tourism in 2009, carrying out expeditions to the & # 34; Titanic & # 34; for money from 2021.
Interestingly, Stockton's wife Wendy is the great-great-granddaughter of tycoon Isidor Strauss and his wife Ida. They were first class passengers on the Titanic. After the crash, they were offered places in a lifeboat, but Isidore flatly refused, deciding to share the fate of other men on the ship. And Ida did not want to part with her husband. As a result, the places of the spouses were taken by women with children. Two weeks later Isidore's body was found, while Ida disappeared without a trace. There is an episode with the Strauss in James Cameron's film.
Hamish Harding, 58, is a British businessman, aviator and space tourist. He entered the Guinness Book of Records three times. As part of an international crew, he set a record for the speed of flying around the Earth. The billionaire, whose capital is estimated at $ 2 billion, was considered a key figure in the international aircraft industry. He was the founder and head of the Action Group, which sold and operated aircraft.
Harding was known as an avid adventurer. In 2021, he dived in a two-seat submersible into the Mariana Trench, and a year later flew into space on Jeff Bezos's New Shepard. He flew around the Earth through the South and North Poles. Hamish is one of two people who have been both in space and at the bottom of the Mariana Trench.
Shahzada Dawood, a 48-year-old businessman from Pakistan, was the head of the Dawood Hercules Corporation, a trustee of the SETI Institute, and a member of the advisory board of the Prince's Trust, a charitable foundation founded by Charles III. Shahzada was the richest man in the country with a net worth of $8 billion. Even as a child, he became interested in the history of the sunken ship, having watched the film "The sinking of "Titanic". And since then he dreamed of seeing his wreckage with his own eyes.
His 19-year-old son Suleiman was a student at the University of Strathclyde. Shahzad Davud's sister said that the guy was scared of the upcoming adventure and admitted that he was not ready for such an experience. In the end, he agreed to sit in the bathyscaphe to please his father on the eve of Father's Day.
77 year old Paul-Henri Narjolet was once a French navy commander, submersible pilot, diver, member of the French Institute for Exploration and Exploitation of the Sea, and Director of Underwater Research, who owns the rights to salvage the wreck of the Titanic. At one time, he operated underwater vehicles, looking for sunken French planes and helicopters. Once, during one of the missions, Narjolet accidentally found an ancient Roman ship at the bottom.
Narjolet is one of the most legendary oceanologists who made several expeditions to the sunken ship. Under his leadership, thousands of artifacts were recovered. Paul-Henri was recognized as the leading specialist in the study of the wreckage of the "Titanic". Participated in the creation of two documentaries about him.
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