The dramatic search and rescue mission for five people aboard a missing submersible touring the wreckage of the Titanic in the Atlantic Ocean came to an abrupt end on Thursday when officials said debris from the vessel had been found.
U.S. Coast Guard officials said that a remote operated vehicle discovered the tail cone of the submersible about 1,600 feet from the bow of the Titanic on the ocean floor. Other major pieces of debris were also discovered.
"The debris is consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vessel," U.S. Coast Guard District 1 Rear Adm. John Mauger said at a news conference.
Remote operated vehicles will remain on the scene to gather information. Officials don't yet know when the vessel imploded.
The vessel, named "Titan," went missing on Sunday. It was estimated to have an oxygen supply of about 96 hours, giving searchers until Thursday to rescue the passengers.
The five people on board the Titan were a British adventurer, two members of a Pakistani business family and a French maritime expert along with pilot Stockton Rush, the CEO of the OceanGate Expeditions company that runs the trips.
OceanGate said in a statement Thursday that it believed that all passengers "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," the company said. "Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time."
The long-shot search got some hope earlier this week in the form of underwater noises that officials couldn't decipher. They focused their search in the area where the noises were picked up.
But Mauger on Thursday said that "there doesn't appear to be any connection between the noises and the location on the seafloor" where the debris was found.
Ultimately the sounds could have come from many different sources, and the outlook grew grim again as the hours ticked away on Thursday. Even if the vessel was found intact, it would have been a logistical nightmare to bring it to the surface.
The Titanic sank in 1912 after hitting an iceberg during its first voyage from Britain to New York, killing about 1,500 people. The wreckage was discovered at a depth of about 12,500 feet - or more than 2 miles - below the surface in 1985.
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