By: Selena Sun

On Sunday, June 18, five people who went underwater in a submersible to see the Titanic shipwreck went missing. The people are considered to be dead; the men went missing in a submersible when visiting the Titanic crash site. A submersible is like a submarine but smaller and controlled remotely.

For the search effort, countries from around the world sent ships and other equipment to help. “On Thursday afternoon, the U.S. Coast Guard announced they had found debris from the submersible near the Titanic site. The missing vessel captured the world’s attention for days. The outcome has raised questions about what went wrong.”

Here’s what you need to know

Ever since 2021, when the Titan first started taking passengers down to see the Titanic, it has taken several groups down to see the Titanic. The most recent group left on Sunday morning, June 18.

The five people on board were OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, British billionaire Hamish Harding, French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood with his son Suleman.

The craft lost contact after 90 minutes of going underwater. When the submersible lost contact, it was 700 kilometers south of St. John’s, Newfoundland, at the time.

In a news conference Thursday afternoon, U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger said an ROV discovered a piece of the Titan. It was sitting on the seafloor about half a kilometer from the Titanic. “The debris is consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vessel,” he said.

An implosion is when something bursts inward. It’s not clear when the implosion happened. It’s possible it happened as early as Sunday, when the submersible lost contact with its support vessel, according to a U.S. military official. “I offer my deepest condolences to the families,” Mauger said. “I hope that this discovery provides some solace during this difficult time.”

Sources: https://eb18600f7bb2916037f5ee8e636ce199.cdn.bubble.io/f1687709518559x542052506609288060/5%20people%20in%20underwater%20Titanic%20expedition%20have%20been%20lost%20at%20sea%20_%20Article%20_%20Kids%20News.pdf