US Coast Guard
Video footage released by the US Coast Guard shows the moment the wife of the late OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush heard the apparent sound of the Titan submersible imploding.
In the video, Wendy Rush, a director at the ocean tourism company — which has since suspended all operations — can be seen attempting to contact the sub from the Polar Prince support vessel when a loud slamming sound can be heard through her monitor.
“What was that bang?” she said, before receiving a message saying the sub had dropped two weights, seeming to give her the impression the trip was going to plan. Analysts say the message may have been sent shortly before the sub imploded but a delay may have caused it to come through later.
The Titan sub imploded while descending to view the wreckage of the Titanic in the North Atlantic Ocean in June 2023, killing all five people on board.
The Titan lost communication with the Polar Prince around one hour and 45 minutes into its dive, sparking a frantic search effort involving US, Canadian, and French rescuers.
The vessel’s wreckage was discovered by a remotely operated vehicle four days after it went missing, around 500 meters (roughly 1,640 feet) from the bow of the Titanic, per the Coast Guard.
OceanGate cofounder Stockton Rush, pilot and adventurer Hamish Harding, businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, and former French Navy diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet were the passengers in the vessel.
OceanGate charged up to $250,000 per ticket to see the Titanic, which lies at a depth of around 12,500 feet.
A passenger waiver form for the Titan viewed by Business Insider in 2023 said the sub had successfully completed “as few as 13” out of 90 dives to the depth of the Titanic.
A new Netflix documentary scheduled to be released in June will take a closer look at what caused the tragedy.
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