OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, British adventurer and billionaire Hamish Harding, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, and French explorer and Titanic expert Paul-Henry Nargeolet, were aboard the OceanGate submersible Titan, which went missing in the Atlantic Ocean on Sunday.
The disappearance of the sub triggered a massive, multi-day international search.
Early this morning, searchers said they had found debris near the wreck of the doomed oxean liner, and later confirmed it belonged to Titan.
It’s now believed the sub suffered a “catastrophic” implosion and all five aboard were killed.
The president of The Explorers Club, to which Harding and Nargeolet belonged, expressed his grief today.
Richard Garriott de Cayeux thanked the many groups involved in the search and rescue mission and the many others around the world “who have mobilised personnel and resources to support the search and rescue.”
“Hamish Harding is a dear friend to me personally and to The Explorers Club. He holds several world records and has continued to push dragons off maps both in person and through supporting expeditions and worthy causes,” de Cayeux said.
“Paul-Henri was elected to the Club in 2001 and was one of the foremost experts on submersible expeditions to the Titanic.”
He said both Harding and Nargeolet were “drawn to explore” to try to advance science and “for the betterment of mankind.”
De Cayeux added that Rush, who was the CEO and chairman of OceanGate who operated the Titan, was a friend of the club and gave lectures at its headquarters.
“While we did not know Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman personally, their desire to explore as a family would have led them to our doorstep at some point in their futures, where we would have welcomed them,” he said.
Rush’s company OceanGate, which owned the submersible and carried out the expedition, paid tribute to those aboard.
“These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans,” the company said in a statement.
“This is an extremely sad time for our dedicated employees who are exhausted and grieving deeply over this loss.”
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Co-founder Guillermo Söhnlein told CNN it was a “tragic loss”.
“All five crew members were passionate explorers. And they died doing what they believed in,” he said.
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SETI Institute CEO Bill Diamond, a friend of Shahzada Dawood, said he had not been a “risk-taker”.
“I think he looked at this as an extraordinary adventure,” Diamond told Today.
“I’m sure he saw this as an extraordinary thing to share with his son, and I’m also sure that he would not have taken his son on board if he thought there was really, you know, a serious level of danger.”
The White House has also expressed its sorrow.
“Our hearts go out to the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives on the Titan,” the White House said in a statement.
“They have been through a harrowing ordeal over the past few days, and we are keeping them in our thoughts and prayers.”
The statement also thanked the searchers, including the Coast Guard, involved in the international effort to find the submersible.
“This has been a testament to the skill and professionalism that the men and women who serve our nation continue to demonstrate every single day,” the statement said.
The Pakistani government, meanwhile, offered their “deepest condolences” to the Dawood family.
“We appreciate the multinational efforts over the last several days in search of the vessel,” the country’s Foreign Ministry wrote on Twitter.
The Dawoods are members of one of Pakistan’s most prominent families and their firm, Dawood Hercules Corp, based in Karachi, is involved in agriculture, petrochemicals and telecommunication infrastructure.
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