It happened in a flash

Marine expert: Death in submersible was “painless”

(Bild: OceanGate Expeditions / AFP)

The five adventurers who set off on an exploratory mission to the wreck of the "Titanic" in the submersible "Titan" died in the vessel - according to an ex-US naval officer, the crew did not even realize that they were doomed. Aileen Marty told the US television station CNN that it was a "painless" death.

On Thursday evening, the US Coast Guard announced that there was no hope for the passengers of the "Titan". Debris from the lost submersible was discovered just a few hundred meters from the "Titanic", which sank in 1912, including the landing frame and the rear cover of the submersible. A remote-controlled diving robot discovered the remains of the vessel at a depth of 3,800 meters. The "Titan" is likely to have imploded shortly after submerging.

Crew probably didn't realize there was a problem
The five men probably didn't have to suffer for long: the implosion happened in a fraction of a millisecond, expert Marty told CNN - she is a professor of disaster medicine. The drama happened so quickly that it was impossible for the human brain to grasp. "The whole thing collapsed before the people inside could even realize there was a problem," said the former naval officer.

On board the "Titan" were Hamish Harding (top left), Stockton Rush (top right), Paul-Henri Nargeolet (bottom left) and Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman (bottom right).

(Bild: AFP)

Minor structural defect is enough to cause an accident
In an implosion, an object collapses because the external pressure is greater than the internal pressure. Even a tiny structural defect can trigger an accident at great depths. The crew of the "Titan" would not even have known that they were about to die. "Ultimately, given the many ways in which we can die, this is painless," says Marty. 

The submersible "Titan" on the surface

(Bild: AP)

US Navy registered implosion already on Sunday
Meanwhile, the US Navy is said to have already registered the implosion on Sunday. A US Navy underwater acoustic detection system recorded the drama. "The US Navy conducted an analysis of the acoustic data and detected an anomaly that was due to an implosion or explosion in the general vicinity of the submersible's location when communications were interrupted," a spokesperson told ABC.

The navy then passed this information on to the rescue team, as CNN learned from an official. The search area was then narrowed down. However, the noise was classified as "not definitive" - which is why the search and rescue operation was continued.