THIS is the chilling moment the doomed Titan sub imploded as it was captured on video from its own support ship.
Footage reveals the sound of when OceanGate’s submersible catastrophically failed during its descent to the Titanic wreck in June 2023.
The haunting video was obtained by the BBC and presented to the US Coast Guard’s Marine Board of Investigation.
It shows Wendy Rush – wife of OceanGate boss Stockton Rush – staring at a computer used to receive messages from the Titan when a deep metallic thud rings out.
Wendy, visibly startled, freezes before glancing up and asking the crew: “What was that bang?”;;
Seconds later, a message arrives from the sub: “dropped two wts”;; – a reference to the Titan shedding weights to control its dive.
But the timing of the message was tragically misleading.
According to investigators, the sub had already imploded.
The sound reached the surface faster than the delayed text, giving the false impression all was well.
All five people onboard were killed instantly when the vessel collapsed under immense pressure at a depth of around 3,300m – just 90 minutes into the £195,000-a-head journey.
The doomed expedition claimed the lives of CEO Stockton Rush, British explorer Hamish Harding, French Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman.
A BBC documentary, in which the footage is featured, will also reveal chilling new findings – including that the Titan’s carbon fibre hull began failing a full year before the fatal dive.
Lieutenant Commander Katie Williams from the USCG said: “Delamination at dive 80 was the beginning of the end.
“And everyone that stepped onboard the Titan after dive 80 was risking their life.”;;
The documentary details how carbon fibre, an unconventional choice for deep-sea vessels, started to separate in 2022.
On that dive, passengers heard a loud bang, but Rush reportedly reassured them it was “the sub shifting in its frame.”;;
The USCG has since confirmed that noise was a sign the hull was beginning to break apart.
Despite warnings from experts and former OceanGate staff – one calling the sub an “abomination”;; – Titan continued making dives.
Deep-sea explorer Victor Vescovo admitted: “I specifically told them that it was simply a matter of time before it failed catastrophically.”;;
Businessman Oisin Fanning, who was onboard for the last two successful dives, said: “If you’re asking a simple question: ‘Would I go again knowing what I know now?’ – the answer is no.”;;
The mangled wreckage of the Titan was later recovered from the Atlantic seabed, along with clothing, stickers and business cards.
The USCG has confirmed “presumed human remains”;; were found and matched to the victims.
Christine Dawood, who lost her husband Shahzada and son Suleman, told the BBC the tragedy had changed her forever.
“I don’t think that anybody who goes through loss and such a trauma can ever be the same.”;;
The harrowing footage comes as the USCG prepares to release its final report later this year, with legal fallout already beginning.
In April, after her trip aboard Titan was axed.
The Hong Kong businesswoman, worth around £758million, paid £680,000 for the once-in-a-lifetime voyage – only for it to be cancelled after the sub was struck by lightning in 2018.
She was promised priority rebooking, but after the sub imploded in 2023, she demanded her money back.
Lo is now suing Henry Cookson’s ultra-luxury travel firm, arguing it broke the contract.
The company denies wrongdoing, insisting she declined to use her credit for alternative trips and that the refund policy was clear.
Meanwhile, earlier this year, , capturing what experts believe was the actual moment the Titan was crushed.
The eerie recording revealed the “acoustic signature”;; of the vessel’s final seconds.
Rescue hopes were initially high when Titan vanished from sonar on June 18, 2023.
But days later, – an area the size of six football pitches.
The Titan was last heard from at 10.47am with the message: “dropped two wts.”;;
Six seconds later, it vanished from sonar.
The support ship Polar Prince sent a final message at 10.49am: “lost tracking.”;;
Communication was never re-established.
OceanGate later issued a statement: “We again offer our deepest condolences to the families of those who died on June 18, 2023... It would be inappropriate to respond further while we await the agencies’ reports.”;;
The investigation continues.
