Originally appeared on E! Online
Newly-released audio from the 2023 Titan submersible implosion could offer new details about the terrible tragedy.
Nearly two years after the underwater vessel disappeared in the Atlantic Ocean during a mission to explore the wreckage of the RMS Titanic, the U.S. Coast Guard released a 20-second recording believed to feature audio of the implosion as part of an ongoing investigation into the accident.
In the clip, recorded roughly 900 miles from the disaster site, a muffled boom sound followed by a chilling silence indicated what the Coast Guard described as the “suspected acoustic signature” of the implosion, which claimed the lives of passengers Stockton Rush, Hamish Harding, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood.
Notably, the recording — which was shared publicly Feb. 7 — also revealed a more precise indication of when the implosion took place. An onscreen note at the start of the clip highlighted that the audio was captured at 9:34 a.m. EDT on June 18, 2023, roughly 90 minutes after the Titan submerged around 8 a.m. off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. The vessel was believed to have lost contact with its operator roughly one hour and 45 minutes after its departure, according to ABC News.
READ How the Titanic Submersible Voyage Ended in Complete Tragedy
As rescue crews worked to recover the passengers in the days after the submersible went missing, Coast Guard officials shared that a Canadian aircraft “detected underwater noises in the search area” in a post on X (formerly Twitter), causing rescue efforts to relocate “in an attempt to explore the origin of the noises.”
But tragically, four days after the voyage, the company responsible for organizing the excursion declared in a statement that they believed the five people on board “have sadly been lost.”
“These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world's oceans,” OceanGate’s statement continued. “Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time. We grieve the loss of life and joy they brought to everyone they knew.”
