Family of Brit Titan passenger Hamish Harding pay tribute to ‘living legend’ as relatives of crew share their agony
THE families of the Titanic submarine crew have shared their devastation after all five passengers were confirmed dead.
Operator OceanGate said "true explorers" Stockton Rush, Brit billionaire Hamish Harding, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman were “sadly lost”.
The five crew were dubbed "true explorers" with a "distinct spirit of adventure" in a statement by the sub's owner OceanGate.
And since the tragic revelation, Brit billionaire Hamish Harding's family have shared a heartbreaking tribute to the "dedicated father" who "lived his life for his family, his business and for the next adventure".
The statement, released by Harding's company Action Aviation, read: "Today we are united in grief with the other families who have also lost their loved ones.
"Hamish Harding was a loving husband to his wife and a dedicated father to his two sons, whom he loved deeply.
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"To his team in Action Aviation, he was a guide, an inspiration, a support, and a living legend.
"He was one of a kind and we adored him. He was a passionate explorer - whatever the terrain - who lived his life for his family, his business and for the next adventure.
"What he achieved in his lifetime was truly remarkable and if we can take any small consolation from this tragedy, it's that we lost him doing what he loved.
"He will leave a gap in our lives that can never be filled. We know that Hamish would have been immensely proud to see how nations, experts, industry colleagues and friends came together for the search and we extend our heartfelt thanks for all their efforts.
"On behalf of the Harding family and Action Aviation, we would like to politely request privacy at this incredibly difficult time."
The family of Mr Dawood and Suleman, 19, also shared their heartache.
They said: "It is with profound grief that we announce the passing of Shahzada and Suleman Dawood.
"Our beloved sons were aboard OceanGate’s Titan submersible that perished underwater.
Azmeh Dawood said her nephew, 19, had told relatives that he "wasn't very up for it" - but went through with the trip to please his dad.
Azmeh said: "I am thinking of Suleman, who is 19, in there, just perhaps gasping for breath... It's been crippling, to be honest.
"I feel disbelief.
"It's an unreal situation."
The five crew were dubbed "true explorers" with a "distinct spirit of adventure" in devastating tributes last night.
A deep-sea robot sub found five major pieces of debris on the seabed two miles beneath the surface.
They included parts of the pressure hull and a nose cone.
Rear Admiral John Mauger, of the US Coast Guard, said the debris was 1,600ft from the bow of the Titanic, and “consistent with a catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber”.
Asked about recovering the bodies, he admitted the sea floor was an “incredibly unforgiving, incredibly complex environment”.
He added: “We will continue to work and search the area down there but I don’t have an answer for prospects at this time.”
He said the implosion would have made a "significant, broadband sound that the sonar buoys would have picked up" - and it would have killed the crew instantly.
It comes after revelations a top secret US military acoustic detection system - which was designed to spot enemy subs in the water - heard the implosion hours before the debris was recovered.
Speaking at a press conference last night, Rear Admiral Mauger added: "This morning, an ROV, or remote operated vehicle from the vessel Horizon Arctic discovered the tail cone of the Titan submersible approximately 1,600ft from the bow of the Titanic on the sea floor.
"The ROV subsequently found additional debris. In consultation with experts from within the unified command, the debris is consistent with the catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber.
"Upon this determination, we immediately notified the families.
"On behalf of the United States Coast Guard and the entire unified command, I offer my deepest condolences to the families. I can only imagine what this has been like for them.
"And I hope that this discovery provides some solace during this difficult time."
Rescue experts say the debris of the Titan sub was found more than 650ft from the bow of the Titanic wreck.
Carl Hartsville, from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, told reporters it was found in an area where there was "no debris" of the Titanic.
Carl said: "It's consistent with the location of the last communication for an implosion in the water column."
Foreign secretary James Cleverly paid tribute to the five people who were on board the Titan.
He described it as "tragic news" and said the government was closely supporting the families affected.
Earlier today, the US coastguard confirmed a "debris field" found in the hunt contained remnants of the vessel.
David Mearns - a pal of two of the Titan passengers - believed the debris held vital clues about what happened to the sub.
"That really indicates the worst-case scenario, that is catastrophic failure of the vessel. Generally that's an implosion.
"The only saving grace about that was that it would have been immediate. It would have happened in milliseconds.
"My worst fears as of Monday have now been realised.
"So yeah, two friends of mine are gone."
"And the men would have had no idea what was happening."
The OceanGate sub vanished less than two hours into its descent to the Titanic wreckage on Sunday and has not been seen since.
Search crews had been frantically looking for the vessel in the Atlantic after it lost communication on Sunday with just 96 hours of life support.
The sub failed to resurface later that afternoon - with its final "ping" to mothership Polar Prince placing the sub directly above the ruins.
But operators failed to notify the Coast Guard until 12.40pm BST (5.40 ET) - eight hours after contact was lost.
Sounds of banging detected underwater on Wednesday raised hopes of a last-gasp miracle but it was not to be.
The search involved the world’s most advanced undersea search technology.
It comes as questions have been raised over why it took so long for the Coast Guard to the alerted to the vessel's disappearance.
Kathleen Cosnett, a cousin of British billionaire Harding, slammed OceanGate for taking "too long" to alert authorities.
Mr Harding paid £200,000 for the trip along with businessman Dawood, 48, and his son Suleman, 19, a .
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It was led by Rush, 61, and veteran French explorer Henri Nargeolet, 77.
The US Coast Guard has also been criticised for being slow to authorise private groups with state-of-the-art equipment to aid the rescue effort.