The Titan submersible passengers may have felt “horror, fear and agony” for a minute before it imploded, an expert has claimed.
Last month, five people tragically died on board the submersible after it imploded in the ocean. It had been travelling down to see the wreckage of the Titanic. Hamish Harding, father and son Shahzada and Suleman Dawood, OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush and Paul-Henri Nargeolet lost their lives.
Now, Spanish submarine expert José Luis Martín has claimed that the submersible may have lost stability due to an electrical failure.
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He also estimated that the sub began freefalling at a depth of around 5,600 feet and fell “as if it were a stone and without any control” for about 3,000 feet.
He said at around 8,600 feet it may have “popped like a balloon” due to the water pressure.
Imagine the horror, the fear and the agony. It must have been like a horror movie.
In an interview with Spanish newspaper Nius, Martín gave his theory. He said: “The starting point is that the submarine is descending without any incident and in a horizontal plane until it reached about 1,700 meters (5,500 feet).
“At that point, there was an electrical failure. It was left without an engine and without propulsion. That’s when it lost communication with the Polar Prince.”
He went on to suggest: “The Titan changed position and fell like an arrow vertically, because the 400 kilos of passengers that were in the porthole compromised the submarine. They all rushed and crowded on top of each other.
“Imagine the horror, the fear and the agony. It must have been like a horror movie.”
Martín added: “In that period of time they are realising everything. And what’s more, in complete darkness. It’s difficult to get an idea of what they experienced in those moments. After those 48 seconds, or one minute, the implosion and instantaneous sudden death occur.”
It was previously claimed that the passengers may have been in darkness during the descent.
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Christine Dawood, the wife of Shahzada and mother of 19-year-old Suleman, spoke about the trip. According to the New York Times, she said she was told they would be in the dark for much of the journey to “conserve battery”.
Read more: Titan sub passengers’ heartbreaking final moments before implosion
Christine also said the passengers were told they could still catch sights of bioluminescent sea creatures.
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