Coast Guard officials last week found presumed human remains while helping to recover and transfer debris from the Titan, the submersible that imploded near the wreck of the Titanic earlier this year, authorities said.
Debris from the vessel was recovered from the floor of the North Atlantic Ocean on Oct. 4, The Associated Press reported. It has since been transferred to a U.S. port for cataloging and analysis, according to the Coast Guard.
The presumed human remains will be analyzed by medical professionals, officials said.
In June, five people were on board the Titan for a trip to see the Titanic when the submersible suffered a catastrophic implosion. The company that operated the submersible, OceanGate, has since gone out of business.
Officials with OceanGate identified the people who were on the Titan as the company’s CEO, Stockton Rush; Shahzada Dawood and his son, Suleman Dawood; Hamish Harding; and Paul-Henri Nargeolet.
Officials launched a dayslong search after the Titan went silent on June 18, capturing the attention of people around the world.
Last week’s salvage mission was conducted under an existing agreement with the U.S. Navy Supervisor of Salvage & Diving, the Coast Guard said. It was a follow-up to initial recovery operations on the ocean floor, about 1,600 feet away from the Titanic, the AP reported.
The Coast Guard said that investigators are working with the National Transportation Safety Board and other agencies to coordinate a joint review of the debris recovered from the Titan. This review is expected to help determine the next steps for forensic testing.
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