The five Titan submersible victims likely were in “agony” and distress seconds before the implosion, an expert said, comparing the situation to a “horror movie.”
Spanish engineer and submarine expert José Luis Martín provided a timeline of the final moments aboard the submersible in an interview with Spanish news outlet NIUS, according to the English language Diario AS.
“During the controlled immersion of the Titan, there must have been an electrical fault, which left the craft without thrust,” Martín reportedly said.
“Without thrust, the weight of the passengers and the pilots, which was focused on the front end close to the view port, would have disrupted the Titan’s longitude stability.”
Martín believes the malfunction began around 5,500 feet in.
OceanGate, the company that operated the submersible that imploded last month, suspended all exploration and commercial operations https://t.co/xB8nfTcAnO pic.twitter.com/O4mCZN2GTD
— Reuters (@Reuters) July 7, 2023
“At this point, the submersible begins to fall headlong towards the seafloor, and with control and safety functions damaged, it can no longer be maneuvered,” Martín postulated. “The pilot couldn’t activate the emergency lever to drop weights (and return to the surface).” (RELATED: Titanic Sub Reportedly Aborted More Dives Than It Completed)
“The Titan changes position and falls like an arrow vertically because the 400 kilos of passengers that were at the porthole unbalance the submersible,” he continued. “Everyone rushes and crowds on top of each other. Imagine the horror, the fear, and the agony. It had to be like a horror movie.”
Martín believes the entire incident happened between 48 to 71 seconds.
“In that period of time, they are realizing everything. And what’s more, in complete darkness. It’s difficult to get an idea of what they experienced in those moments,” Martín said.
“As it fell to the depths of the ocean, the hull would have been subjected to a sudden increase in underwater pressure” which would have led to a “powerful compression” and ultimately the implosion.
The submersible departed off the coast of St. John’s, Newfoundland, in June but lost contact with the mother ship less than two hours after it began its descent in search of the Titanic wreckage. The Titan wreckage was found days later near the infamous shipwreck.