All the five men onboard a missing submersible near the wreck of the Titanic have been lost, according to Sub operator OceanGate.
The company confirmed this in a statement on Thursday.
โWe now believe that our CEO Stockton Rush, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet, have sadly been lost,โ it read.
It added that the โmen were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the worldโs oceans.โ
OceanGate also sent condolences to โevery member of their families during this tragic timeโ while calling for privacy for them.
The confirmation came hours after a โdebris fieldโ was found by an underwater robot searching near the wreck of the Titanic for the missing submersible.