DNA from the families of the five Titanic tourists who died when their submersible imploded close to the ocean bed is to be collected after presumed human remains were found.
Samples will be taken to help investigators “gain the clearest picture possible” of how the men - three of whom were British - perished in the tragedy.
According to a Canadian coastguard source, it hopes the collection of DNA may help bring “closure” to grieving relatives.
Pieces from the ‘Titan’ sub, which suffered a catastrophic implosion on a deep dive to the liner, were unloaded in St John’s, Canada, on Wednesday.
Officials have said the vessel’s landing frame and a rear cover were found among the debris.
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Titan submersible passengers (L-R, top to bottom) Hamish Harding, CEO Stockton Rush, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and father and son Shahzada and Suleman Dawood (Dirty Dozen Productions/OceanGat)A Canadian coastguard source told The Mirror: “The team are determined to build as big a picture as possible into how Titan came to explode.
“Not only will they be looking into how the sub failed in a structural sense, but they also want to determine what happened to all those on boards using forensics.
“All those investigating want to bring as much closure as possible to the families to provide them with as much comfort as possible.
The recovery operation (Canadian Press/REX/Shutterstock)“The hope is that by taking DNA, it will help identify who the remains belong to if proven to be from the men."
Medical professionals are now set to analyse presumed remains formally, the coast guard said in a statement.
The Coast Guard’s Marine Board of Investigation (MBI) will transport the evidence to a US port for further analysis and testing.
Parts of the vessel being hauled from the water (AP)MBI chair Captain Jason Neubauer said in a statement that there was “still a substantial amount of work to be done to understand the factors that led to the catastrophic loss of the Titan and help ensure a similar tragedy does not occur again.”
“I am grateful for the coordinated international and interagency support to recover and preserve this vital evidence at extreme offshore distances and depths,” Captain Neubauer said.
The OceanGate Expeditions submersible vessel named Titan used to visit the wreckage site of the Titanic. (PA)The investigation is being carried out by teams from the US and Canada, as well as both country’s coast guards and local police.
The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch Transportation is also involved.
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As The Mirror revealed yesterday, investigators are now piecing together the debris collected from the sea bed to rebuild the sub as best they can.
It will help them identify how the Titan came to break apart.
On its 12,500ft descent in the Atlantic Ocean, the submersible suffered a “catastrophic implosion”, killing Brit Suleman Dawood, 19, and his father Shahzada Dawood, 48.
British billionaire adventurer Hamish Harding, 58, French underwater explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77, and OceanGate founder Stockton Rush, 61, also perished.
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