Online sleuths believe they may have identified a key clue about the implosion of ill-fated OceanGate submarine, Titan, which came to grief on June 18 2023.
The tragic expedition to the Titanic wreckage, which claimed the lives of five individuals including OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, has drawn the attention of internet inquisitors, who believe the on-board camera system holds the secret to unravelling the highly publicized mystery.
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Just 105 minutes into the trip the submarine lost all contact with the mothership, Polar Prince, and it’s thought that the vessel is likely to have imploded due to an electrical failure, a failure of the bolts securing the pressure hatch, or instability to the pressure hull.
Internet users have been discussing the possibility that the sub’s camera system could hold valuable information about what really happened on the day. Installed on Titan was a Rayfin Benthic imaging system, capable of recording in 4K while transmitting lower-res images to a screen.
The IP-based cameras have previously delivered remarkable footage of marine life near the Titanic wreckage including corals, sea sponges, and other deep-sea creatures who get sustenance from the decaying iron structure. While some people believe the cameras on board may have survived the implosion, experts are unsure whether they would’ve retained operation due to power shortages and lack of light.
The cameras were supposedly located outside the sub's pressure dome, which has led to speculation that at least one of them could provide information on what happened in the minutes before implosion. It might also be possible to obtain details about what happened in the 1-hour, 45-minute descent showing the conditions that the sub was faced with.
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"The cameras were outside the pressure dome," said one commenter (as reported by LBC). "At least one of them seems to have survived as you can see a glimpse of it in the wreckage. Its local storage may very well have glimpses of what happened."
Alongside the OceanGate CEO, on board the submarine were British billionaire Hamish Harding, French explorer Paul-Henry Nargeolet, Pakistani businessman Shahsada Dawood and his son Suleman.
In the days that followed the communication blackout, a rescue mission searched more than 10,000m² of ocean off the coast of Newfoundland using helicopters, submersibles, fixed-wing aircraft, and a ship in the hope of finding the vessel with the passengers on board still alive.
Soon after 8am EDT on June 22 (the time that the vessel's oxygyen supply would have run out), debris from the vessel was found and all five crew members were later confirmed to have died. Since the accident, OceanGate has suspended all expeditions and commercial operations.
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