OceanGate chief executive Stockton Rush, Pakistani-British businessman Shahzada Dawood and his teenage son Suleman Dawood, British businessman Hamish Harding, and French deep sea explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet “have sadly been lost,” said a spokesperson for OceanGate in a statement Thursday afternoon.
“These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans,” said Andrew Von Kerens on behalf of OceanGate. “Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time.”
OceanGate thanked the multiple organizations of the international community for their commitment to finding these five explorers.
“This is a very sad time for the entire explorer community, and for each of the family members of those lost at sea,” the statement said.
The “primary” remotely operated vehicle (ROV) involved in the search and rescue team looking for the missing Titan is the PRS Odysseus 6K, said Pelagic Research Services, a Cape Cod-based ocean services company that owns the ROV.
A spokesperson for the company told CNN that its ROV found the debris field. In a “clarification statement,” the company said that the ROV was deployed early Thursday morning and has been scanning the seafloor in the rescue area continuously.
The company said that it has been part of the search effort since Monday when OceanGate first contacted it for help.
According to Sky News, PRS deleted an earlier statement off its website and social media.
“PRS want to express our full gratitude for the incredible, coordinated rescue response of everyone involved in this search and rescue mission. Our focus right now is on the families of those on the Titan and for their tragic loss,” the statement said.
PRS did not immediately respond to The Post for comment.
Credit: Washington Post
