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"We grieve the loss of life and joy they brought to everyone they knew,'' the statement said. OceanGate, the company that operated the Titan – and whose CEO, Stockton Rush, piloted the watercraft – issued a statement saying the travelers "have sadly been lost.'' The 22-foot vehicle was on a dive to the Titanic site when it lost contact with its support ship Sunday morning. Navy director of salvage operations and ocean engineering, said the debris found Thursday indicated a "catastrophic event." He and Mauger said it included a tail cone, the end bell of the pressure hull and the aft end bell, which according to Hankins, "basically comprise the totality of that pressure vessel." The Navy shared the information with the Coast Guard, but the data was not considered definitive.
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That anomaly was “consistent with an implosion or explosion in the general vicinity of where the Titan submersible was operating when communications were lost,” a senior Navy official told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity. The irregularity was picked up when the Navy went back and analyzed its acoustic data after the submersible was reported missing that day. Navy detected Sunday was likely the small watercraft's fatal blast, according to a senior military official. The debris was found about 1,600 feet from the Titanic's bow on the sea floor, Mauger said, adding that it was too early to tell when the Titan imploded. John Mauger, commander of the First Coast Guard District, said in a news conference. "The debris is consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vessel," Rear Adm. Members of a massive international search effort found a debris field in the general area of the Titanic earlier in the day, and it was confirmed to contain parts of the Titan sub. The five people aboard the submersible that had been missing for days were killed when the small vessel carrying them to the Titanic wreckage site had a "catastrophic implosion,'' the Coast Guard said Thursday afternoon. For the latest updates on the missing submersible and the recovery efforts, read our live updates page for Friday, June 23. Editor's note: This page reflects the news on the missing submarine from Thursday, June 22.
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