A submarine expert’s theory suggested the victims of the Titan submersible accident experienced “horror,” “fear” and “agony” in their final moments as he reasoned out precisely how long they would go before the vessel “popped like a balloon.”
While the world had waited days to learn the fate of the four passengers and pilot aboard the doomed voyage to observe the wreckage of the Titanic in June, José Luis Martin believes something like a minute transpired between malfunction and tragedy.
Speaking with the Spanish publication NIUS Diario, the submarine expert opined that the submersible had reached a depth of around 5,500 feet when “there was an electrical failure. It was left without an engine and without propulsion. That’s when it lost communication with the Polar Prince.”
From that point, without a propulsion system, Martin asserted that the vessel would have dropped vertically “as if it were a stone and without any control” for about 3,000 feet over the span of 48 to 71 seconds.
“In that period of time they are realizing everything. And also, in complete darkness. It is difficult to get an idea of what they experienced in those moments,” the expert contended. “After those 48 seconds or a minute, the implosion and death take place instantaneously.”
By his assessment, as the submersible descended, the passengers would have “rushed and crowded one on top of the other” at one end while in complete darkness. “Imagine the horror, the fear, and the agony. It had to be like a horror movie.”
Previously, it was reported that a 2022 BBC documentary had featured a malfunction of the Titan submersible only about 600 feet away from the wreckage of the Titanic. Detailed as an improperly mounted thruster, passengers had to wait as the video game controller used to pilot the vessel was reprogrammed.
BBC shows terrifying footage of malfunctioning Titanic submersible: ‘There’s something wrong with my thrusters’ https://t.co/oAXQ9BY4Vu via @BIZPACReview
— BPR based (@DumpstrFireNews) July 6, 2023
However, that design flaw was not an isolated problem for doomed passengers as Martin theorized that the pilot could not avert the uncontrolled descent.
“The pilot couldn’t activate the emergency lever to drop weights (and return to the surface),” he explained as the design was an inadequate device to achieve such an end.
Along with 61-year-old pilot Stockton Rush, CEO of OceanGate Expeditions which operated the vessel, the victims included Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77; billionaire Hamish Harding, 58; businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his son Sulaiman Dawood, 19.
“I feel like I’ve been caught in a really bad film with a countdown,” the younger Dawood’s aunt Azmeh Dawood had told NBC News, “but you didn’t know what you’re counting down to. I personally have found it kind of difficult to breathe thinking of them. I never thought I would have an issue with drawing breath. It’s been unlike any experience I’ve ever had.”
According to her, her nephew “wasn’t very up for” the submersible ride, “felt terrified” and went anyway because the descent was scheduled for Father’s Day.
OceanGate has suspended all of its commercial operations since the tragedy.
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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