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24th June 2023
04:56pm BST

He told Good Morning America that the “Achilles heel of the sub” was the “main hull that the people were inside.” He explained: “If I had to put money down on what the finding will be, the Achilles heel of the sub was the composite cylinder that was the main hull that the people were inside. “There were two titanium end caps on each end. They are relatively intact on the seafloor. “But that carbon fiber composite cylinder is now just in very small pieces. It’s all rammed into one of the hemispheres. It’s pretty clear that’s what failed.”‘Titanic’ director James Cameron on the ‘catastrophic implosion’ of Titan submersible: “I’m struck by the similarity of the Titanic disaster itself, where the captain was repeatedly warned about ice ahead of his ship and yet he steamed at full speed into an ice field." pic.twitter.com/vO8JkCXS5f
— ABC News (@ABC) June 22, 2023
In a statement, OceanGate hailed the sub’s passengers as “true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans”. It added: “We grieve the loss of life and joy they brought to everyone they knew.” Harding’s family remembered a “dedicated father” who was “a guide, an inspiration, a support and a living legend” following the news of his death. In a statement, the family of the 58-year-old explorer said, according to a report in the Guardian: “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.” Harding’s family said his death had left a “gap in our lives that can never be filled”, and that they were “united in grief” with the families of the others who had died. “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.” Related links:"Titanic fascinates us because it seems like such a colossal failure ... The warnings were not heeded … A number of people in the greater deep submergence engineering community warned [OceanGate] that this could lead to literally the term was catastrophic failure." — @jimcameron pic.twitter.com/gQXjcoSQth
— Good Morning America (@GMA) June 23, 2023
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