Footage released by the US Coast Guard has revealed the moment the Titan submersible imploded during a 2023 OceanGate voyage to the Titanic wreck, just before its final communication.
The tragedy claimed the lives of all five passengers aboard, including OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush.
On 18 June 2023, the Titan submersible, operated by OceanGate Expeditions, lost contact with the surface approximately 90 minutes into its dive towards the Titanic wreck.
The US Coast Guard has now released footage showing the instant when a muffled "bang" was heard—believed to be the sound of the sub’s implosion reaching the ocean’s surface.
In the video, Wendy Rush, OceanGate's director and wife of CEO Stockton Rush, is seen monitoring the mission alongside employee Gary Foss. As the Titan reached a depth of 3,300 metres, Rush asked, “What was that bang?”
Newly released footage captures the moment the Titan submersible imploded pic.twitter.com/wi93RQck4T
— OG SNARK 🤭 (@SnarkerKing) May 23, 2025
The footage has since been used as evidence in the 2024 Marine Board of Investigation.
Shortly after the sound, at 9:17 a.m. ET, a message was received from the submersible stating it had “dropped two weights,” indicating a possible emergency ascent attempt.
The Coast Guard confirmed that communication and tracking were lost almost immediately afterward.
The Titan’s last confirmed messages included, “Yes, lost system and chat settings” and “all good here,” sent while descending past 2,200 metres. The implosion is believed to have occurred soon after.
The victims included OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, British billionaire Hamish Harding, French Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and Pakistani-British father and son Shahzada and Suleman Dawood.
Last September, the US Coast Guard had also released footage of the debris.
Breaking news: US Coast Guard releases NEW video showing Titan submersible on ocean floor.
— HOW THINGS WORK (@HowThingsWork_) September 18, 2024
Still can't imagine the horror's of being inside this thing. pic.twitter.com/Ee3YuOf9AC
OceanGate later stated, “These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure and a deep passion for protecting the world’s oceans.”
Frenchman Nargeolet, 71, had visited the Titanic site 35 times, while Harding, 58, had previously travelled to the Mariana Trench and into space aboard Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin rocket. Rush, 61, had hoped to be remembered as an “innovator.”
The five-day search that followed ended on 22 June 2023, when the Coast Guard confirmed the sub had suffered a “catastrophic implosion.”
The vessel’s loss has triggered questions around OceanGate’s operational protocols and deep-sea safety.
The new footage provides a haunting confirmation of the final moments in what has become one of the most publicised maritime tragedies in recent memory.
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