US Navy ‘heard implosion sounds’ shortly after Titan sub lost contact

The loss of the OceanGate vessel was confirmed last night (Picture: PA)

The US Navy is thought to have picked up sounds ‘consistent with an implosion’ shortly after losing contact with the Titan sub.

The loss of the OceanGate vessel was confirmed last night after debris was found on the floor of the Atlantic close to the wreck of the Titanic.

Five people were inside the submersive when it vanished during a dive to the Titanic wreck on Sunday.

A secret acoustic monitoring system designed to detect submarines heard the explosion, the Associated Press reported.

But the sound was ‘not definitive’ so the US coast guard continued the search to try and find the missing vessel.

An anonymous senior US Navy official said: ‘The US Navy conducted an analysis of acoustic data and detected an anomaly consistent with an implosion or explosion in the general vicinity of where the Titan submersible was operating when communications were lost.

‘While not definitive, this information was immediately shared with the Incident Commander to assist with the ongoing search and rescue mission.’

The Titan sub was owned and operated by company OceanGate (Picture: EyePress News / Shutterstock)

From left, Shahzada Dawood, Suleman Dawood, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Stockton Rush and Hamish Harding all died in the implosion on board the vessel (Picture: AP)

Titanic director and submersible expert James Cameron told BBC News this morning that he predicted the outcome of what happened to the vessel, and compared it to what happened to the ill-fated ship.

‘I felt in my bones what had happened,’ he said.

‘For the sub’s electronics to fail and its communication system to fail, and its tracking transponder to fail simultaneously – sub’s gone.

‘I knew that sub was sitting exactly underneath its last known depth and position. That’s exactly where they found it.

‘[It] felt like a prolonged and nightmarish charade where people are running around talking about banging noises and talking about oxygen and all this other stuff.

‘I immediately got on the phone to some of my contacts in the deep submersible community. Within about an hour I had the following facts. They were on descent. They were at 3,500 metres, heading for the bottom at 3,800 metres.

Five pieces of debris were discovered as part of the search yesterday (Picture: Daily Mail)

‘We now have another wreck that is based on unfortunately the same principles of not heeding warnings.’

US Coast Guard rear admiral John Mauger told a news conference yesterday that five pieces of debris were found around 1,600 feet (487m) from the bow of the Titanic, which sank and killed around 1,500 people in 1912.

Those who died in the implosion were confirmed as businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman Dawood, French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, OceanGate US CEO Stockton Rush, and aviation company owner Hamish Harding.

OceanGate said in a statement: ‘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.

‘This is an extremely sad time for our dedicated employees who are exhausted and grieving deeply over this loss.

‘The entire OceanGate family is deeply grateful for the countless men and women from multiple organisations of the international community who expedited wide-ranging resources and have worked so very hard on this mission.’

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The loss of the OceanGate vessel was confirmed last night.