The 77-year-old French explorer, nicknamed “Mr. Titanic”, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, one of the five passengers who died in the explosion of the submersible Titan, revealed, before the fateful expedition, that he had been stuck underwater for three days , without any communication, on a previous voyage to the Titanic, Insider reports.
Christine Dawood, the wife of British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and the mother of their 19-year-old son Suleman Dawood, both of whom died on the most recent Titanic expedition to the Titanic wreck, told The New York Times that before tragic trip, Nargeolet gave a presentation about his previous voyages on the Titanic.
The French explorer was a veteran deep-sea diver who made 37 successful trips to the Titanic wreck before embarking on the Titan voyage last month.
During his presentation, Nargeolet revealed that he was once “stuck in the submersible for three days and all communications were cut off,” Christine Dawood told the Times.
Her husband Shahzada Dawood was not bothered by the story and remained keen to go on the trip, she added. “Oh my God, that’s so cool,” the Briton reportedly said. “He was very excited. He had a glow on his face when he was talking about all this nerdy stuff,” his wife added.
The other passengers on board the sub were OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush and British billionaire Hamish Harding.
After several days of searching, the US Coast Guard and OceanGate declared all five passengers dead. Coast Guard officials said they found debris near the wreckage of the Titanic that was “consistent with a catastrophic loss of pressure chamber” and then a “catastrophic implosion.” The Coast Guard later said it had begun recovering debris and “suspected human remains” from the Titan submersible.
Besides Nargeolet, other former Titan submersible passengers recalled losing communication while on board. Mike Reiss, a writer and producer for “The Simpsons,” said the Titan had communication problems on its Titanic voyage with OceanGate last year.
“I went on four different dives with the company, one on the Titanic and three off New York City, and communication was lost, at least briefly, every time,” Reiss told CNN. “It seemed like a problem that was part of the system. I don’t blame the submarine as much as I blame the deep water. Whenever communication was lost, it was restored,” Reiss said.
Editor : C.L.B.
