The U.S. Coast Guard has announced that an ROV (remotely operated vehicle) has found a debris field near the Titanic, within the area that they were searching for the lost submersible, according to the BBC.

The Coast Guard will hold a press conference at 3 pm Eastern Daylight Time.

• In the meantime, dive expert David Mearns, a friend of the passengers, told the BBC that the debris included a “landing frame and a rear cover” from the submersible.

Source: Explorers Wwb- Jerry Kobalenko

Minutes before the U.S. Coast Guard’s news conference about the fate of the missing submersible, OceanGate has issued the following 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 organizations of the international community who expedited wide-ranging resources and have worked so very hard on this mission.

We appreciate their commitment to finding these five explorers, and their days and nights of tireless work in support of our crew and their families.

This is a very sad time for the entire explorer community, and for each of the family members of those lost at sea.

• We respectfully ask that the privacy of these families be respected during this most painful time.”

News conference

“The debris is consistent with the catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber,” added U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger in the news conference. “The ROVs will remain on scene and continue to gather information.”

The wreckage of the sub was found 400m from the bow of the Titanic.

Source: jerry Kobalenko – Explorers Web