Missing Titanic sub crew believed to be dead after ‘catastrophic implosion’

The president of The Explorers Club said the group is heartbroken over the tragic loss of the individuals on the Titan vessel on Thursday.

“Our friends and fellow Explorers Club members Hamish Harding and Paul-Henri Nargeolet are lost, along with Stockton Rush, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, while trying to reach the RMS Titanic,” President Richard Garriott de Cayeux said in a statement.

He thanked the many groups involved in the search and rescue mission and the many others around the world “who have mobilized personnel and resources to support the search and rescue.”

“Hamish Harding is a dear friend to me personally and to The Explorers Club. He holds several world records and has continued to push dragons off maps both in person and through supporting expeditions and worthy causes. Paul-Henri was elected to the Club in 2001 and was one of the foremost experts on submersible expeditions to the Titanic,” Garriott de Cayeux said.

He said both Harding and Nargeolet were “drawn to explore” to try to advance science and “for the betterment of mankind.” Garriott de Cayeux added that Rush, who was the CEO and chairman of OceanGate who operated the Titan, was a friend of the club and gave lectures at its headquarters.

“While we did not know Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman personally, their desire to explore as a family would have led them to our doorstep at some point in their futures, where we would have welcomed them,” he said.