Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch says we appreciate the multinational efforts over the last several days in search of the vessel.
ISLAMABAD: (UrduPoint/Pakistan Point News-June 23rd, 2023) Pakistan has expressed deepest condolences to the Dawood family and the family of other passengers on the sad news about the fate of Titanic submersible in the North Atlantic.
In a statement, Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said we appreciate the multinational efforts over the last several days in search of the vessel.
Following a devastating incident, all five individuals on board a submersible near the Titanic wreck have tragically lost their lives. The US Coast Guard revealed on Thursday that the vessel experienced a "catastrophic implosion" at great depths in the ocean, resulting in an instant demise for the occupants.
The group consisted of British explorer Hamish Harding, French submarine expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Pakistani-British tycoon Shahzada Dawood, his son Suleman Dawood, and Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate Expeditions, the company operating the sub.
This somber announcement brings an end to the multinational search-and-rescue operation that had captured global attention over the past four days since the submersible went missing in the North Atlantic.
Rear Admiral John Mauger, speaking in Boston, informed reporters that the debris found on the seabed, approximately 500 meters from the Titanic's bow, was consistent with the implosion of the sub's pressure chamber.
Mauger extended his condolences to the families on behalf of the United States Coast Guard and the unified command, expressing deep sympathy for their loss.
OceanGate, the operator of the submersible, released a statement expressing their grief and support for the families affected by the tragedy. They praised the men on board as true explorers who possessed a unique spirit of adventure and a profound dedication to the exploration and preservation of the world's oceans.
Earlier on the same day, the Coast Guard reported that an underwater robot had discovered a "debris field" within the search area. Authorities later confirmed that the wreckage included the sub's tail cone, as well as the front and back sections of its pressure hull.
Mauger emphasized the challenges of the deep-sea environment and acknowledged the uncertainty surrounding the cause and timing of the vessel's implosion. He refrained from speculating on the retrieval of the men's remains.
The process of demobilizing personnel and vessels from the scene will commence soon, but unmanned robots will continue to operate on the seabed for the time being, gathering as much information as possible, according to Mauger.
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the US military initially detected the likely implosion of the submersible using classified underwater sound monitoring devices shortly after its disappearance on Sunday. A senior Navy official, who requested anonymity, confirmed that acoustic data analysis indicated an anomaly consistent with an implosion or explosion near the location where communication was lost.
The small sub, named Titan, vanished as it descended towards the Titanic, resting nearly four kilometers below the ocean's surface and 400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.
OceanGate Expeditions had offered seats on the submersible for $250,000. In a lawsuit from 2018, the former director of marine operations raised concerns about the "experimental and untested design" of the Titan.
Hamish Harding, a billionaire and avid explorer with three Guinness Records, and the Dawood family, belonging to one of Pakistan's wealthiest families, were among those on board. Paul-Henri Nargeolet, nicknamed "Mr. Titanic" due to his frequent dives at the site, also lost his life.
The family of Harding issued a statement paying tribute to the aviation tycoon, describing him as a passionate explorer, a loving husband, and a dedicated father to his two sons. They expressed consolation in the fact that he was pursuing his passion at the time of the tragedy.
The loved ones of the Dawoods conveyed their profound grief through a brief statement. Both the British and Pakistani governments expressed their deepest condolences to the families of all the men involved.
The allure of the Titanic remains strong even today. The 21-foot (6.5-meter) Titan submersible was scheduled to resurface after seven hours from its descent at 8:00 am on Sunday. However, communication with the mothership was lost less than two hours into the mission.
In a joint effort, ships and aircraft from the US and Canadian coast guards, along with a robot dispatched from France, meticulously searched an extensive area of 10,000 square miles (approximately 20,000 square kilometers) of surface water. This area, roughly equivalent to the size of the US state of Massachusetts, was scoured in hopes of locating the missing vessel.
During the search, focus shifted to areas where underwater banging noises were detected on Tuesday and Wednesday. Regrettably, Rear Admiral Mauger clarified that these sounds did not appear to have any connection to the discovered debris.
The Titanic, which sank in 1912 after colliding with an iceberg during its inaugural voyage from England to New York, claimed the lives of more than 1,500 people among the 2,224 passengers and crew on board. The wreckage was discovered in 1985 and continues to attract nautical experts and underwater enthusiasts alike.
The immense pressure at the depth where the Titanic rests measures around 400 times that of sea level in terms of atmospheres.
Renowned marine scientist and oceanographer David Mearns, who specializes in deep-water search and recovery operations, expressed his thoughts on the rapid breakup of the submersible based on the debris discovery. He explained that the occupants would have experienced an immediate demise, likely in a matter of milliseconds, without any awareness of the impending tragedy. Mearns, who was acquainted with two of the individuals on board, shared his sentiments with Sky News.
