Communication was lost between the Titan and its support ship about one hour and 45 minutes into its descent to the wreckage, however it was only reported missing to the US Coast Guard eight hours later.“ took so long for them to get going to rescue , it’s far too long.Harding’s family paid tribute to the “passionate explorer” on Friday.“He was a passionate explorer — whatever the terrain — who lived his life for his family, his business and for the next adventure.
The eight-hour time lag is yet to be explained by OceanGate. Sean Leet, head of the company that co-owns the support ship, would not discuss the timeline during a news conference Wednesday, saying only that “all protocols were followed for the mission”.However, experts familiar with deep-sea exploration said those lost hours raise red flags.
“We continue to map the debris field and ... will do the best we can to fully map out what’s down there,” he said. He added investigations of the debris field will continue as they search for answers as to how, why and when the implosion occurred.“We now believe that our CEO Stockton Rush, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet, have sadly been lost,” it said.