Footage from the OceanGate support vessel reveals the precise moment the Titan submersible imploded during its descent to the Titanic wreckage in June 2023, resulting in the death of all five onboard.

The expedition, organized by OceanGate, aimed to explore the Titanic, located 3,800 meters below the surface. Among the passengers were OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, British explorer Hamish Harding, renowned French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet, British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, and his 19-year-old son Suleman.

The BBC, granted exclusive access to the US Coast Guard (USCG) investigation for its documentary, “Implosion: The Titanic Sub Disaster,” obtained footage showing Wendy Rush, Stockton Rush’s wife, reacting to the implosion’s sound with the question: “What was that bang?”

This video, presented as evidence to the USCG Marine Board of Investigation, underscores the catastrophic failure of the submersible. The investigation also revealed that the Titan’s carbon fiber hull exhibited signs of structural compromise a year prior to the fatal dive.

The footage shows Mrs. Rush, also an OceanGate director, monitoring communications from the Titan. At approximately 3,300 meters, a sound resembling a slamming door is heard. Shortly after, a text message from the submersible indicates the release of ballast weights, leading Mrs. Rush to believe the descent was progressing normally.

The USCG determined that the sound was actually the implosion, occurring before the delayed message reached the surface. The five occupants perished instantly.

Prior to the tragedy, deep-sea experts and former OceanGate employees voiced concerns regarding the Titan’s design, with one describing it as “an abomination” and predicting the disaster’s inevitability. The submersible lacked independent safety certification, raising significant concerns about the hull’s carbon fiber construction.

The USCG investigation pinpoints the onset of hull failure to a dive the previous year (Titan’s 80th dive). Carbon fiber’s unreliability under extreme pressure, and specifically delamination (separation of layers), was cited as a critical factor.

Passengers on a prior dive reported a loud bang, attributed by Mr. Rush to the sub shifting. The USCG analysis, however, indicates this sound was caused by delamination. Lieutenant Commander Katie Williams stated: “Delamination at dive 80 was the beginning of the end… everyone that stepped onboard the Titan after dive 80 was risking their life.”

Following three more dives in 2022, the Titan failed on its subsequent deep dive. Oisin Fanning, a passenger on the two preceding dives, expressed that, knowing what he now knows, he would not have participated. Deep-sea explorer Victor Vescovo echoed concerns, likening the Titan’s voyages to “playing Russian roulette.”

The implosion’s wreckage was recovered from the Atlantic seabed, including personal belongings. The USCG will release a comprehensive report later this year, aiming to prevent future tragedies. Christine Dawood, who lost her husband and son, expressed the profound and lasting impact of the event.

OceanGate offered condolences and stated its full cooperation with investigations. Private lawsuits are underway, and criminal proceedings may follow.

You can watch Implosion: The Titanic Sub Disaster at 9pm on Tuesday, 27 May on BBC Two. It will also be available on BBC iPlayer.

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Footage from the support ship has revealed the precise moment the OceanGate Titan submersible was lost.

The Titan imploded approximately 90 minutes into its descent to the Titanic wreck in June 2023, resulting in the deaths of all five occupants.

The passengers had paid OceanGate for a viewing of the wreck, situated 3,800 meters below the surface.

Among the victims were OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, British explorer Hamish Harding, veteran French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet, British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, and his 19-year-old son Suleman.

The BBC, for its documentary “Implosion: The Titanic Sub Disaster,” gained unprecedented access to the US Coast Guard’s (USCG) investigation.

Recently obtained USCG footage captures Wendy Rush, Mr. Rush’s wife, hearing the implosion sound from the support vessel and asking, “What was that bang?”

This video has been submitted as evidence to the USCG Marine Board of Investigation, which has spent the past two years investigating the sub’s catastrophic failure.

The documentary further reveals that the submersible’s carbon fiber hull began to degrade a year prior to the fatal dive.

The Titan’s support ship remained in proximity during the Atlantic Ocean descent. The video shows Mrs. Rush, an OceanGate director, monitoring communications with the Titan via a computer.

At approximately 3,300 meters, a noise resembling a slamming door is audible. Mrs. Rush pauses, then inquires about the sound from other OceanGate crew.

Moments later, she receives a text from the sub indicating the release of ballast weights, leading her to believe the dive was progressing normally.

The USCG identifies this noise as the Titan’s implosion. However, the text message, sent just before the failure, arrived later than the implosion sound.

All five aboard perished instantly.

Prior to the fatal dive, deep-sea experts and former OceanGate employees voiced concerns regarding the Titan’s design, with one labeling it an “abomination” and the disaster as “inevitable”.

The Titan had never undergone independent safety certification. A primary concern was the hull’s construction—layers of carbon fiber and resin—an unconventional material for deep-sea submersibles due to its unreliability under pressure. Delamination, the separation of carbon fiber layers, was a known risk.

The USCG pinpoints the start of hull failure to a dive the previous year – the 80th dive undertaken by the Titan.

Passengers on that dive reported a loud bang during ascent, attributed by Mr. Rush to the sub shifting. USCG data indicates this was actually delamination.

“Delamination at dive 80 was the beginning of the end,” stated Lieutenant Commander Katie Williams of the USCG. “Anyone aboard the Titan after dive 80 risked their life.”

The Titan completed three more dives in summer 2022 before its failure in June 2023.

Oisin Fanning, a passenger on the final two dives, stated to BBC News, “Would I go again knowing what I know now? No. Many wouldn’t have gone. Intelligent people lost their lives; with full knowledge, they wouldn’t have made that journey.”

Deep-sea explorer Victor Vescovo expressed serious reservations about the Titan, likening its use to Russian roulette, and personally warned Stockton Rush of potential catastrophic failure.

Following the implosion, the mangled wreckage was discovered scattered on the Atlantic seabed. The USCG details the recovery process, noting the discovery of Mr. Rush’s clothing, business cards, and Titanic stickers.

A final report, aiming to prevent future tragedies, will be published by the US Coast Guard later this year.

Christine Dawood, who lost her husband and son, shared with the BBC documentary team, “I don’t think that anybody who goes through loss and such a trauma can ever be the same.”

The repercussions of the OceanGate disaster will likely persist for years, with lawsuits and potential criminal prosecutions underway.

OceanGate stated to the BBC: “We again offer our deepest condolences… and to all those impacted… It would be inappropriate to respond further while we await the agencies’ reports.”

You can watch Implosion: The Titanic Sub Disaster at 9pm on Tuesday 27 May on BBC Two. It will also be available on BBC iPlayer.

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RRS James Cook embarks to study the Porcupine Abyssal Plain, monitoring life at depths of 5,000m.

The violin was used to play hymn Nearer My God To Thee as the ship sank in the Oscar-winning film.

Colonel Archibald Gracie’s letter from onboard the ill-fated ocean liner has been described as “prophetic”.

Colonel Gracie wrote he would wait until the ship’s voyage ended before he would “pass judgement”.

The timepiece was found among the belongings of Danish passenger who died in the 1912 disaster.