In a harrowing turn of events, the deep-sea submersible known as the Titan, met a devastating end during its ambitious mission to explore the century-old wreck of the Titanic. Read on to know what happened →
Titan, operated by OceanGate Expeditions, experienced a catastrophic implosion during its mission to explore the wreck of the Titanic.
The implosion caused the submersible to break into multiple pieces, leading to the loss of all five people on board.
The implosion occurred at a significant depth in the North Atlantic, where the water pressure is extremely high, placing immense stress on the Titan's structure.
The Titan's pressure vessel, usually made of a single metal like steel or titanium, was made using a combination of titanium and composite carbon fibre.
The use of materials with different properties, such as titanium's elasticity and carbon fiber's stiffness, resulted in a defect or delamination.
The implosion would have been all-encompassing, causing the vessel to collapse from all sides, rendering it completely destroyed.
I would have happened within seconds, as the sub had to face the crushing forces of the water column at a depth of approximately 3,800 meters.
Normally, at extreme depths, the human body can experience decompression sickness, nitrogen narcosis, oxygen toxicity, and hypothermia.
However, the implosion would have resulted in an immediate and likely painless death for the individuals on board, providing some reassurance.
The debris field found near the bow of the Titanic, consisting of major fragments of the Titan, shows the intensity of the implosion.