Human remains and debris from the submersible that imploded near the Titanic wreckage site was pulled from the depths of the ocean Wednesday, more than a week after a search for the five-passenger sub was launched and captured the world's attention.
Officials said medical professionals would study and analyze the presumed human remains that were carefully recovered from the wreckage.
The Titan, a submersible operated by OceanGate Expeditions, lost contact with its home ship June 18 off Newfoundland. Multiple countries sent resources in a frantic search for the sub, led by the U.S. Coast Guard.
Last Thursday, when the estimated oxygen supply would have been depleted, the Coast Guard said that debris had been discovered on the ocean floor near the bow of the wrecked Titanic and that all five on board had been killed.
It's believed the submersible imploded, and the cause is under investigation.
The sub's remains were recovered by a remote-operated vehicle, which was sent roughly 12,500 feet underwater, where the remains of the Titan were on the ocean floor.
What appeared to be chunks of the sub were pulled up onto the Horizon Arctic, a Canadian ship. It's unclear what parts were recovered; one particularly large piece could be seen with several large wires attached to it.
The Canadian ship Horizon Arctic carried a remotely operated vehicle to search the ocean floor near the Titanic wreck for pieces of the submersible. Pelagic Research Services, the company with offices in Massachusetts and New York that owns the remote vehicle, said Wednesday that it has completed offshore operations.
The Marine Board of Investigation will transport the debris aboard a U.S. Coast Guard cutter to a port in the U.S., where it will be analyzed and tested.
