The US Coast Guard said on Sunday it had launched an investigation into the cause of the underwater implosion that destroyed the small submersible Titan, with the loss of all five people aboard, including two Pakistanis, during a dive to the Titanic wreck. On board the craft were Engro Corp Vice Chairman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman, British explorer Hamish Harding, French submarine expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and Stockton Rush, US founder and chief executive officer of OceanGate Expeditions, which operated the submersible and charged $250,000 per person to make the Titanic trip.
The Coast Guard said it had created a marine board of investigation (MBI), its highest level of probe, for this drama and ultimately tragedy in the North Atlantic that drew worldwide attention. “My primary goal is to prevent a similar occurrence by making the necessary recommendations to enhance the safety of the maritime domain worldwide,” Jason Neubauer, the Coast Guard’s chief investigator and leader of this probe, told a press conference in Boston.—AFP
