Daughter of Titanic-obsessed explorer says he died 'good death' in sub disaster

16 June 2024 , 12:35

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Sidonie Nargeolet, 39, said she was living with 'a lot of stress, very mixed emotions' amid the search for her father, (Image: Facebook)

The daughter of a Titanic explorer who died in the Titan submersible disaster has told how her father died where he loved most.

Ahead of Tuesday's first-year anniversary of the tragedy, Sidonie Nargeolet, whose dad, Paul-Henri Nargeolet , was one of five men who perished at 12,500 feet under the Atlantic's surface, also spoke of her fury at those responsible for his death.

Of the ill-fated submersible's cavalier owner, Stockton Rush, who perished too, she added: "It's better that he's no longer around." Discussing her father, she said: "He must have been super happy. His favourite thing was to see the Titanic. He had a very good death. He died healthy, with his mind intact and living his passion," she says.

"I think what he did is beautiful. I think it's courageous." Sidonie spoke as the US Coast Guard provided an update on its investigation into the deaths of the five men on board.

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Officials said they were still "actively investigating" the factors that caused famed French explorer Nargeolet, UK billionaire Hamish Harding, 58, British father-son pair Shahzada Dawood and Suleman Dawood, 48 and 19, and submersible's owner Stockton Rush, 61, to perish in the disaster.

A young Paul Henri-Nargeolet who died in the disaster (Credit: Pen News)

French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet was one of the five who died on the Titan (Fivedeeps)

The men were killed on June 18 last year, an hour and 45 minutes into the Titan's trek to the bottom of the North Atlantic, where the doomed Titanic sits.

"The investigation into the implosion of the Titan submersible is a complex and ongoing effort," said the Coast Guard's Marine Board Investigation (MBI) Chair Jason Neubauer. "We are working closely with our domestic and international partners to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the incident."

The Coast Guard initially expected the investigation to be completed in a year but has now stated that factors have extended it, including the need to contract two salvage missions to obtain vital evidence and the requirement of extensive forensic testing.

Sidonie said her father, known as 'PH,' was "obsessed" with the ship, adding, "His priorities were firstly Titanic and then family." She last spoke to her father the month before the ill-fated expedition as he arrived on the Polar Prince, the ship from which the Titan submersible was launched in St John's, Canada.

An undated photo shows tourist submersible belongs to OceanGate begins to descent at a sea (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

"He told me that his book on the Titanic was going to be translated into English," said Sidonie "He was happy." At 6am the next day, she received a message from her stepmother telling her Titan was missing. "I cried for ten minutes," she recalled.

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Relatives were told the men had 96 hours of oxygen inside the sub before it ran out, sparking a frantic international rescue mission. Sidonie said that as the clock ticked down, she was added to a What's App Group on Tuesday, June 20, set up by the sub's owner, OceanGate, for the families of the victims.

It included Linda Harding and Christine Dawood, the latter on board the Polar Prince waiting for her husband and son.
"Christine Dawood and Linda Harding talked a lot. They sent nice messages of hope: 'We're going to find them.' What they said was beautiful, really supportive," she said. "But us, the Nargeolets, we were more reserved."

All hope was extinguished on Thursday, June 22, the final day of oxygen, when Nargeolet received a message from the US Coast Guard inviting her and the other families to join an urgent video call.

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They had found debris on the seabed, indicating that the craft had imploded as it was approaching the Titanic on the day of the dive, crushed by the pressure of the deep ocean.

"They showed us a photo," said Nargeolet. "So now we saw what it was." It has since emerged that experts had raised safety concerns with OceanGate about its new method of creating the submersible out of carbon fibre, which was prone to cracking. None of the families has received compensation.

Discussing the expedition, Sidonie said: "Some people asked me why my dad would go down there. I, too, would like to ask him that question. I think his passion for the Titanic brought him there. He was an explorer."

She added she is furious with OceanGate and its chief executive, Rush. "It's better that he's no longer around," she said. "It would have been hell for him to be alive with what happened."

Christopher Bucktin