Officials say that secret underwater microphones of the United States Navy detected the implosion of the Titan submarine days ago.
According to a US Defense official cited by The Wall Street Journal, the Navy employed a classified acoustic detection system to search for the missing OceanGate Expeditions submersible after it was reported as lost on Sunday. The Associated Press also reported this claim.
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The report indicated that an implosion sound was heard near the area where debris was later found, approximately 500 meters away from the Titanic shipwreck, soon after the submersible disappeared.
The Navy, concerned about national security, requested that the specific acoustic system used not be disclosed, as it is primarily utilized for monitoring enemy submarines, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.
The Wall Street Journal received information from a senior official stating that the US Navy analyzed acoustic data, revealing an anomaly suggesting a potential implosion or explosion in the vicinity where the Titan submersible was operating when communication was severed.
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US Coast Guard Confirms Fatal Outcome in Catastrophic Implosion
However, it should be noted that this information is not definitive. The official stated that this information was immediately shared with the Incident Commander to assist with the ongoing search and rescue efforts.
The Navy relayed the information about the sound to the US Coast Guard command, according to the official.
During the Cold War, the US Navy employed a passive sonar system known as the Sound Surveillance System to monitor Soviet submarines.
In an announcement on Thursday, the US Coast Guard revealed that the five crew members of the Titan had perished in a catastrophic implosion shortly after losing contact with their support ship during a 4,000-meter dive to the Titanic shipwreck on Sunday morning.
Rear Admiral John Mauger, the First Coast Guard District commander, stated during a press briefing that a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) discovered fragments of the Titan on the seabed approximately 500 meters from the bow of the Titanic wreckage. He mentioned that the ROV located five significant pieces of debris in two separate areas containing different ends of the pressure hull.
Admiral Mauger suggested that none of the crew members could have survived the catastrophic implosion due to the harsh conditions on the seabed.
On Thursday, Harding’s family paid tribute to British billionaire Hamish Harding, an aviator and explorer, through a statement released by his company Action Aviation.
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