What follows now after the confirmation of the death of 5 people who were in the Titan

Kathryn Armstrong and Jonathan Amos

Confirmation of the deaths of the crew aboard the submersible that went missing during a dive to visit the wreckage of the Titanic means that the massive search operation launched into the waters of the Atlantic Ocean has new priorities.

The US Coast Guard confirmed Thursday afternoon that all five men on board died after of what was likely a “catastrophic implosion” del Titan, property of the company Ocean Gate.

Will the bodies be recovered?

Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger said he could not confirm whether or not his agency will be able to locate the bodies of the victims.

“This is an incredibly unforgiving environment,“ he said.

Those on board were wealthy British businessmen Hamish Harding and Shahzada Dawood, with their son Suleman.

Ocean Gate CEO Stockton Rush was also on the crew, along with former French navy diver Paul-Henry Nargeolet.

What will happen to the search?

It is not clear at this stage which agency will lead the investigation as there is no protocol for this type of incident involving a submersible.

Mauger said it is particularly complex because the incident occurred in a remote part of the ocean, involving people of different nationalities.

But since the US Coast Guard played a leading role in the operation, it is likely that it will continue to play a prominent role.

He said they would continue to investigate the area where the remains were found and that several boats, medical personnel and technicians remain in the area.

The teams will begin to be demobilized in the next 24 hours.

Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) operating in the The seafloor around the Titanic will remain for now as well.

“I don't have a timeline for when we will stop remote operations on the seafloor at this time,” Mauger said.

What about the underwater wreckage?

It is essential to collect as much wreckage as possible, including bits of the carbon fiber from which part of the boat was made, so authorities can reconstruct what happened.

Efforts to map the area where parts of Titan were found continue.

Paul Hankin, a submarine expert, explained that five major pieces of wreckage have been found so far, confirming that it was the missing submersible.

Pieces include the nose cone and bells on the front and rear ends of the pressure helmet.

How will the incident be investigated?

Rear Admiral Mauger said the governments of the countries involved in the incident are discussing how they can carry out a investigation.

The goal is to confirm the theory that an implosion caused the deaths of those aboard the Titan and, if so, when and why it happened.

For now , the Transport Safety Board of Canada (TSB) announced that it has launched an investigation into the implosion of the submersible.

A team of TSB investigators will leave Newfoundland to “gather information, conduct interviews and assess the event”. Other agencies are expected to participate in this operation.

Search service company Pelagic also said it is conducting a new mission to the location where the ship fragments were found to map and document the area, as well as assist in recovery. of evidence.

This company operates the Odysseus, the unmanned underwater vehicle that discovered the Titan fragments and so far the only one that has reached the site at a depth of 3,800 meters.

Awaiting key clues

Looking ahead, Rear Admiral Mauger believes there will be a review of the regulations and standards for underwater missions of this type, although he stressed that this is not within his remit.

Another source of possible information about what exactly happened to the Titan could be hydrophones, underwater microphones used to listen to evidence of illicit atomic weapons.

These tools helped establish that the Argentine submarine ARA San Juan imploded after disappearing off the country's coast in 2017.

Hydrophones may have detected the end of Titan and could provide clues to the exact moment the tragedy occurred.

The US Navy detected sounds “that resemble an implosion” shortly after Ocean Gate's Titan submersible lost contact, a navy official said.