Debris found IS from missing Titanic sub & holds vital clues – as OceanGate confirm its five crew are dead

A ROBOT searching for the missing Titanic sub has discovered debris belonging to the vessel – with the five crew members now confirmed to be dead. The US Coastguard has said the scraps – believed to be landing frame and a rear cover – were from Titan. Titan vanished less than two hours into its descent Victor 6000, a robot able to go 20,000ft underwater, is scouring the waterReuters A robot deployed from Canadian vessel Horizon Arctic is also on the seabed combing for the subAlamy And David Mearns – a pal of two of the Titan passengers – believes the debris holds vital clues about what happened to the sub. He told Sky News: “It was a landing frame and a rear cover from the submersible. “It means the hull hasn’t yet been found but two very important parts of the whole system have been discovered and that would not be found unless it was fragmented. “Again this is an unconventional submarine, that rear cover is the pointy end of it and the landing frame is the little frame that it seems to sit on.” Mearns also pointed to the fishtail fairing of the sub. He added: “If the faring is off and the frame is off – then something really bad has happened to the entire structure. “On the news that we have yet, they haven’t found the hull of which the men are inside.” It comes as OceanGate has confirmed “true explorers” Stockton Rush, Brit billionaire Hamish Harding, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman have all died in the sub. An OceanGate spokesperson said: “We now believe that our CEO Stockton Rush, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet, have sadly been lost. “These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans. “Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time. We grieve the loss of life and joy they brought to everyone they knew.” The OceanGate sub vanished with five people on board less than two hours into its descent to the Titanic wreckage on Sunday and has not been seen since. Mearns also claimed the findings suggested the vessel could have imploded. He said: “A debris field implies there’s a break up of the submersible. “And at that depth, because we know that they lost communications with it at around 3,300m… that really indicates what is the worst case scenario, which is a catastrophic failure. “And generally that is an implosion.” He added: “The only saving grace is that it would have been immediate, literally in milliseconds and the men would have no idea what was happening. “My worst fears as of Monday have now been realised. “So yeah, two friends of mine are gone.” Earlier today, the US Coast Guard said experts were “evaluating the information” after the debris field was found by a robot searching for the missing sub on the seabed. Officials said they were still treating the mission as an “active search and rescue”. It marks a potential breakthrough in an increasingly urgent around-the-clock effort to find the sub. Search crews have been frantically looking for the vessel in the Atlantic after it lost communication on Sunday with just 96 hours of life support. OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush is stuck on the stricken sub with Hamish Harding, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Sulema. The US Coast Guard warned the oxygen supply was due to reach empty at 12.08pm BST (7.08am ET) today – meaning it is probable the crew on board Titan are now without breathable air.  Experts say humans can only survive a few minutes without oxygen. But rescue crews are hoping for a miracle as underwater robots were deployed today to scour for the stricken sub. The sub failed to resurface on Sunday afternoon – with its final “ping” to mothership Polar Prince placing the sub directly above the ruins. But operators failed to notify the Coast Guard until 12.40pm BST (5.40 ET) – eight hours after contact was lost. Sounds of banging detected underwater on Wednesday raised hopes of a last-gasp miracle as extra rescue ships rushed to join a final bid to find lost craft Titan in the Atlantic. The late arrivals – carrying the world’s most advanced undersea search technology – provided the best hope of an incredible last-minute rescue. The US Coastguard said today that Canadian vessel Horizon Arctic has deployed a robot that has reached the sea floor and started its search for the missing sub. And RAF and USAF cargo planes are today flying a specialist ultra-deep submersible to St John’s Canada to assist what sources are now calling the “recovery mission”. The remotely operated vehicle, nick-named Juliet, has already surveyed the Titanic wreck. It is flying with a 10-strong crew of expert operators and 6km of armoured steel cable to power and control it underwater. A RAF plane arrived at St John’s International Airport after it received a request for assistance in the hunt for the missing sub. It comes as questions have been raised over why it took so long for the Coast Guard to the alerted to the vessel’s disappearance. Kathleen Cosnett, a cousin of British billionaire Harding, slammed OceanGate for taking “too long” to alert authorities. Stockton Rush, CEO of OceanGate, led the expedition British billionaire Hamish Harding is one of the five trapped on the subSpace Launch Now Sahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, 19, are on the lost subCourtesy of the Dawood family Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 73, is also stuck on the vessel The pilot of a Royal Canadian Air Force CP-140 Aurora maritime surveillance aircraft of 14 Wing flies a search pattern for the missingReuters Mr Harding paid £200,000 for the trip along with businessman Dawood, 48, and his son Suleman, 19, a student at Glasgow University. It was led by Rush, 61, and veteran French explorer Henri Nargeolet, 77. The US Coast Guard has also been criticised for being slow to authorise private groups with state-of-the-art equipment to aid the rescue effort. It’s understood teams applied as early as Monday to help, but were not contacted until last night, reports the Mail. US Coast Guard’s Rear Admiral John Mauger, who is heading the search operation, today insisted rescuers remain focused on finding the five-member crew alive. Mr Harding’s friend Professor Mark Hannaford, the founder of World Extreme Medicine, also urged people to “not give up hope”. He told the Independent: “We should not conclude the opportunity to rescue them. All efforts should continue until the point of impossibility. “ And Guillermo Sohnlein, who founded OceanGate with Mr Rush in 2009, believes if all five men have stayed calm and laid still, there is a chance their oxygen supply could’ve lasted longer. He said: “Today will be a critical day in this search and rescue mission, as the sub’s life support supplies are starting to run low.” US Coast Guard captain Jamie Frederick confirmed deep-sea noises had been heard which were being analysed by sonar experts to establish if they came from the 22ft craft. French ship L’Atalante – carrying the robot Victor 6000, which is capable of reaching depths of 20,000ft – arrived at the scene today, as did US crane ship Horizon Atlantic. Crews on board L’Atalante submerged Victor 6000 to comb the seabed at about 12.30pm BST (7.30am ET). Today will be a critical day in this search and rescue mission, as the sub’s life support supplies are starting to run low Guillermo SohnleinOceanGate founder The robot can dive deeper than other equipment at the site. Operated by a 25-strong crew, it has arms that can be operated  to cut cables or perform other manoeuvres to release a stuck vessel. While the vehicle could not lift Titan to the surface on its own, it could help to hook it to a ship. It’s understood a Canadian Navy ship carrying a medical team specialising in dive medicine was also sent to the area today. According to the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Halifax of Canadian Armed Forces, it has a hyperbaric recompression chamber that can hold up to six people. Experts warned that even if the sub is located, it would take hours to winch it to the surface. No10 confirmed Lieutenant Commander Richard Kantharia would be part of the Titan rescue efforts “as long as is required”. The experienced submariner is understood to have joined the US Coastguard mission on Tuesday evening in the US. A Downing Street spokesman said: “At the request of the US Coast Guard the UK has embedded a Royal Navy Submariner to assist the search and rescue efforts for the missing submarine.” Two of the trapped men’s wives were on ships at the surface on Wednesday monitoring the operation. The Titanic sank on its maiden voyage to New York on April 14, 1912, after hitting an iceberg. More than 1,500 of the 2,200 passengers and crew onboard were killed, and many died within minutes of being thrown into the -2C waters. The decaying wreck of the 822ft liner was first discovered in 1985. Titanic OceanGate Submarine News Everything you need to know about the missing submarine, which vanished near the Titanic on June 18, 2023. What happened to the OceanGate Submarine? When did it go missing? Who is Hamish Harding? How deep is the Titanic in the ocean? Can the passengers escape the submarine alive? Do submarines like this disappear often and has this happened before? Who is taking part in the rescue effort? Who is Paul-Henry Nargeolet and what is he known for? Who else is missing on the stricken vessel? When did the Titanic sink and have people explored the wreckage before?