17 June 2024 , 11:30
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Passengers on the Titan submersible were "playing Russian roulette" as the vessel was getting "weaker each time", a victim's friend has told the Mirror.
OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush managed to convince British adventurer Hamish Harding; Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood; and Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet to pay £195,000 for a ticket to visit the Titanic wreckage a year ago this week.
However, the sub was not approved by any regulatory body and on June 18 it went missing after its support vessel lost contact with it for about an hour and 45 minutes. It was reported overdue about 435 miles south of St. John’s, Newfoundland after the Titan was launched from an icebreaker that was hired by OceanGate and formerly operated by the Canadian Coast Guard.
READ MORE: Billionaire taking new submarine to the Titanic wreck to 'prove it's safe'
OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush was playing "Russian roulette" with his passenger's safety, an expert has claimed (OceanGate)
Billionaire adventurer Hamish Harding was one of the five passengers onboard the sub (AP)For all the latest news, politics, sports, and showbiz from the USA, go to The Mirror US
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The ship had ferried dozens of people and the submersible craft to the North Atlantic wreck site, where the Titan had made multiple dives.
Victor Vescovo, one of the world’s most accomplished deep-sea pilots, had completed a previous 2021 mission with Hamish completing a record-setting dive in the Mariana Trench, the world’s deepest part of the ocean, in a submersible.
The Titan suffered a catastrophic implosion (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)Victor exclusively told The Mirror that Rush was playing "Russian roulette" with the passenger's safety and specifically warned his friend not to get into the sub.
He added: "I told him (Hamish) not to go anywhere near that submersible, that I thought it was only a matter of time before it catastrophically failed at depth. That anyone going down in it was playing Russian roulette with each dive adding a bullet to the chamber. I honestly said that to him. But he told me he thought it was safe enough."
Victor Vescovo and Hamish completed a previous 2021 mission with a record-setting dive in the Mariana Trench, the world’s deepest part of the ocean, in a submersible (TIM STEWART NEWS LIMITED)Victor, along with many other experts, had warned anyone thinking of getting in the Titan that with intense pressure at extreme depths, the Titan’s hull could implode, which would result in instant death for anyone aboard.
During the Titan's last trip to the Titanic, The Marine Technical Society warned Rush to get the submarine classified or risk ceasing his operation - which he refused to listen to.
Experts say the catastrophic implosion likely killed its pilot and four passengers instantly amid the intense water pressure in the deep North Atlantic.
He added: "The Marine Technical Society, MTS, wrote a letter to Stockton Rush imploring him to get the subclassed or else stop his operations. He ignored their great collective experience and kept diving into an inherently flawed design and operation."
During the sub's last visit to the Titanic, the vessel was towed to the dive location which could have "increased the risk of significant hull damage", much to the disbelieve of Victor.
"I mean, on their last trip to Titanic, they actually towed the submersible to the dive location on the open water," he said. "Who knows what kind of beating the sub took in the North Atlantic on the way there that increased the risk of significant hull damage."
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