Titanic sub horror: Five unanswered questions on Titan tragedy as five crew confirmed dead in ‘catastrophic implosion’

THE five crew onboard the missing Titanic sub have reportedly died after the deep-sea vessel suffered a “catastrophic implosion”. “True explorers” Stockton Rush, Brit billionaire Hamish Harding, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman all passed away during the tragic incident. This is the final photo taken of a submersible before it vanished OceanGateOceanGate’s submersible can carry five people[/caption] Stockton Rush, CEO of OceanGate, died during the voyage OceanGateThe vessel was used to take tourists to see the wreckage of Titanic[/caption] What caused the implosion? John Mauger, Rear Admiral of the US Coast Guard, confirmed the debris field found by the robot today was consistent with a “catastrophic implosion”. An implosion is a process in which an object is destroyed by collapsing or being squeezed by force in on itself. David Mearns – a pal of two of the Titan passengers – believed the debris held vital clues about the implosion. 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. “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.” What were the banging noises? On Wednesday, it was reported that sounds were heard underwater during the search for the missing Titan sub. At the time, it sparked new hope that the crew members could have been signalling for help. Searchers claimed they heard banging in 30-minute intervals while looking for the vessel. A Canadian aircraft also detected the sounds in the area where the crew disappeared. US Coast Guard captain Jamie Frederick later confirmed the deep-sea noises had been heard and were being analysed by sonar experts to establish if they came from the 22ft craft. Carl Hartsfield, another expert involved in the search, told reporters it was very tough to discern what the noises were. He said: “We have multiple sensors in the area taking the data back to the best people in the world and feeding this back to the team so they can make decisions. “They have to eliminate potential manmade sources other than the Titanic.” However, at the press conference on June 22, Rear Admiral Mauger said there did not appear to be any connection between the underwater noises detected during the search and rescue mission and the location of the debris on the seafloor. “This was a catastrophic implosion of the vessel, which would have generated a significant broadband sound down there that the sonar buoys would have picked up,” he said. Why was there an 8 hour delay before the alarm was raised? OceanGate Expeditions has been criticised for an eight hour delay before it alerted the US Coast Guard that it had lost contact with the Titan.  The company’s Titan submerged at 1pm UK time on Sunday around 400 miles southeast of St John’s, Newfoundland, near to where the famous shipwreck lies. But roughly after an hour and 45 minutes into the descent, it lost contact with the Polar Prince. However, it wasn’t reported missing to the US Coast Guard until eight hours later at 10.40pm. Kathleen Cosnett, a cousin of Hamish Harding, told the Telegraph the eight-hour delay was “far too long”. Kathleen said: “It’s very frightening. It took so long for them to get going to rescue them, it’s far too long. “I would have thought three hours would be the bare minimum.” OceanGate has not explained why it took so long to alert the Coast Guard. Why was the sub used after safety concerns raised? A series of crucial blunders were made before a submersible carrying five people vanished on a trip to see the Titanic wreckage. At least seven problems and blunders appear to have been overlooked. In a haunting interview before the vessel became lost, OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush – who was on board – claimed there should be “limits” to safety precautions. He told CBS just last year: “You know, at some point, safety is just a pure waste. “I mean, if you just want to be safe, don’t get out of bed, don’t get in your car, don’t do anything. At some point, you’re going to take some risk, and it really is a risk-reward question. “I think I can do this just as safely while breaking the rules.” Why didn’t it have an emergency safety beacon? David Pogue, a CBS Sunday Morning reporter and ex-passenger of the Titan, revealed that while the vessel was lost last year he questioned the company’s emergency system. He said the surface vessel was not carrying a distress beacon – which is activated by boaters in emergency situations. When activated it alerts a worldwide Search and Rescue (SAR) network designed to send rescuers to the boat’s exact location quickly. Pogue said: “This submersible does not have any kind of beacon like that. “On my expedition last summer they did indeed get lost and adding such a beacon was discussed.” British billionaire Hamish Harding also died on board the Titan Sahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, 19, have died on board the Titan Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 73, is confirmed dead A robot deployed from Canadian vessel Horizon Arctic found the debris The sub vanished on Sunday