The surprising everyday item that survived the OceanGate sub implosion
While sifting through the remains of the ill-fated OceanGate Titan submersible the US Coast Guard recovered a surprising item that was still intact.
The Titan submersible, a carbon fiber and titanium vessel The Titan sub offered people a chance to glimpse the Titanic's legendary resting place since 2021. But beneath its futuristic promise lay growing concerns over the vessel's unconventional design and safety features.
The Titan suffered a catastrophic implosion in June 2023, which killed all five of the passengers on board. Those inside the sub at the time were OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, 61, British businessman Hamish Harding, 58, former French navy diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77, Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his son Suleman, 19.
It is reported that in one moment, those onboard the Polar Prince actually heard the Titan implode - unknowingly. The wife of CEO Stockton Rush, Wendy Rush, was filmed asking innocently, "What was that bang?"
In the days following the disappearance, an international search and rescue mission captured global attention. A faint banging noise detected by sonar had sparked hope, with families clinging to the possibility the crew was still alive. But that hope soon faded. The wreckage was found just 330 yards from the Titanic's bow, confirming that the Titan had imploded and there were no survivors.
Once recovered and drained of water officials were then able to take a closer look at the remains which included carbon fiber, fiberglass, electronic parts - only to discover a still intact sleeve of Stockton Rush's suit. In the video, posted to TikTok by Discovery, a member of the US Coast Guard broke down the process of sorting through the remains.
Investigators recovered various items, including a pen, business cards, Titanic-themed stickers, clothing remnants and human remains. The recovered artifacts have been cataloged by the Coast Guard's Marine Board of Investigation.
The survival of any item in such conditions was unexpected, but the ink pen's intact state stunned investigators. A Coast Guard official said: "Each one of those pieces, even the pen, was still intact. It hadn't been broken. All of this debris, all of these things shattered but his pen was still intact," reports MailOnline.
They added: "We were all just kind of getting all-hands-in and separating what needed to be considered as human remains and what was just other wreckage pieces. As we were pulling it apart that is how we realized it was Mr. Rush's clothing. It was a piece of his sleeve that survived, not the whole suit, just that. Inside of the sleeve of it was the ink pen, business cards and stickers for the Titanic and there was nothing else but that."
The MBI continues to examine recovered debris.
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