The owner of the submersible that went missing during a tourist expedition to the Titanic's wreckage has said it believed that the crew on board have "sadly been lost" after debris matching the missing sub was found on the ocean floor.
"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," OceanGate said in a statement on Thursday.
"Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time," it added.
Earlier, a "debris field" was discovered by an underwater robot searching near the wreck of the Titanic for the missing submersible, rescuers said.
The US Coast Guard said the debris field was found "within the search area by an ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) near the Titanic."
OceanGate Expeditions says it designed Titan to carry up to five people to a depth of 4,000 meters (13,120 feet).
The Titan submersible was reported missing on Sunday – eight hours after it initially lost contact with its surface ship.
