DNA from the families of the five Titanic tourists who died when their submersible imploded close to the ocean bed is to be collected after presumed human remains were found.
Samples will be taken to help investigators “gain the clearest picture possible” of how the men – three of whom were British – perished in the tragedy.
According to a Canadian coastguard source, it hopes the collection of DNA may help bring “closure” to grieving relatives.
Pieces from the ‘Titan’ sub, which suffered a catastrophic implosion on a deep dive to the liner, were unloaded in St John’s, Canada, on Wednesday.
Officials have said the vessel’s landing frame and a rear cover were found among the debris.
vCard.red is a free platform for creating a mobile-friendly digital business cards. You can easily create a vCard and generate a QR code for it, allowing others to scan and save your contact details instantly.
The platform allows you to display contact information, social media links, services, and products all in one shareable link. Optional features include appointment scheduling, WhatsApp-based storefronts, media galleries, and custom design options.
A Canadian coastguard source told the Mirror/Express/Star: “The team are determined to build as big a picture as possible into how Titan came to explode.
“Not only will they be looking into how the sub failed in a structural sense, but they also want to determine what happened to all those on boards using forensics.
“All those investigating want to bring as much closure as possible to the families to provide them with as much comfort as possible. The hope is that by taking DNA, it will help identify who the remains belong to if proven to be from the men.’
Medical professionals are now set to analyse presumed remains formally, the coast guard said in a statement. The Coast Guard’s Marine Board of Investigation (MBI) will transport the evidence to a US port for further analysis and testing.
MBI chair Captain Jason Neubauer said in a statement that there was “still a substantial amount of work to be done to understand the factors that led to the catastrophic loss of the Titan and help ensure a similar tragedy does not occur again”.
“I am grateful for the coordinated international and interagency support to recover and preserve this vital evidence at extreme offshore distances and depths,” Captain Neubauer said.
The investigation is being carried out by teams from the US and Canada, as well as both country’s coast guards and local police. The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch Transportation is also involved.
As the Mirror/Express/Star revealed yesterday (Wednesday), investigators are now piecing together the debris collected from the sea bed to rebuild the sub as best they can. It will help them identify how the Titan came to break apart.
On its 12,500ft descent in the Atlantic Ocean, the submersible suffered a “catastrophic implosion”, killing Brit Suleman Dawood, 19, and his father Shahzada Dawood, 48.
British billionaire adventurer Hamish Harding, 58, French underwater explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77, and OceanGate founder Stockton Rush, 61, also perished.
The team that led the recovery effort, Pelagic Research Services, has said it has now “successfully completed offshore operations” and was in the process of demobilisation.
A statement by the firm marked the end of its mission, signalling a return to the base of operations.
A crew has been “working around the clock now for ten days, through the physical and mental challenges of this operation, and are anxious to finish the mission and return to their loved ones,” Pelagic Research Services said in its statement.
The move raises questions over what, if any, further recovery work could be carried out but, more importantly, if remains of the five men will ever be found.