A senior U.S. military official revealed that the Biden Administration suspected that the submarine imploded the same day it was lost. Yet, it let hopes remain for a successful rescue mission that required a multi-million dollar international effort.
According to the information given by the Wall Street Journal, an official who preferred to remain anonymous said that last Sunday, the Navy detected a sound that sounded like an implosion right in the area where the submersible was operating when they lost communications.
"The Navy began listening for the Titan almost as soon as the sub lost communications (...) The U.S. Navy conducted an analysis of acoustic data and detected an anomaly consistent with an implosion or explosion in the general vicinity of where the Titan submersible was operating when communications were lost," the officer said.
US Navy detected what was likely Titan implosion on Sunday, official says https://t.co/YHiVPfXLqs pic.twitter.com/6BYkP1GGKa
— WFLA NEWS (@WFLA) June 22, 2023
The source explained that the Navy reported its findings to the Coast Guard. He added that since the sound was heard through a top-secret acoustic detection system, this detail was kept secret for national security reasons, and the search and rescue mission was continued until Thursday when a "debris field" of the submersible was found.
"The debris is consistent with a catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber. Upon this determination, we immediately notified the families on behalf of the United States Coast Guard and the entire unified command," said Rear Admiral John Mauger.
A multi-million dollar bailout
Although it has not yet been reported how much money was allocated for this search and rescue mission, it is known that several ships and aircraft were deployed for this operation. In addition, special tools for scanning the ocean floor and expert equipment were required.
"This is a complex search effort which requires multiple agencies with subject matter expertise and specialized equipment which we have gained through the unified command," said Capt. Jamie Frederick, Coast Guard First District response coordinator.
