Was OceanGate's Titan, the submarine vessel that disappeared while descending to the wreckage of RMS Titanic, rescued with all passengers alive three days after going missing on June 18, 2023? No, that's not true: In a news conference held June 22, 2023, the U.S. Coast Guard confirmed that a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) found a debris field consistent with the Titan submersible approximately 1,600 feet off the bow of the Titanic on the seafloor. The debris was said to be consistent with the "catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber." The original poster of the claim apologized on TikTok for posting false information.
The claim originated in a slideshow featuring two images of the Titan on the surface of the ocean. It was shared to TikTok on June 21, 2023, (archived here) with a caption that read, "Good that they found it, but why is the area undisclosed?? #fyp #weird #news #1 #100k." Text overlaid on the images read:
BREAKING NEWS
MISSING SUBMARINE FOUND AFTER 55 HOURS
5 people went missing after their submarine stopped communications
The submarine was found after 55 hours with only a few hours of oxygen left in an undisclosed location
According to sources, 4 of them are being medically checked while 1 is in critical condition
Follow for future updates
Below is how the two slideshow images appeared at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok compilation screenshots taken June 22 20:07:45 UTC 2023)
During a live-streamed news briefing held June 22, 2023, (archived here) Rear Adm. John Mauger of the U.S. Coast Guard confirmed that a newly found debris field was consistent with aspects of the Titan:
This morning, an ROV -- remote-operated vehicle -- from the vessel Horizon Arctic discovered the tail cone of the Titan submersible approximately 1,600 feet from the bow of the Titanic on the seafloor. The ROV subsequently found additional debris. With consultation with experts from within the unified command, the debris is consistent with the 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, I offer my deepest condolences to the families.
I can only imagine what this has been like for them and I hope that this discovery provides some solace during this difficult time.
The debris is consistent with a "catastrophic implosion of the vessel," he added. As of this writing, ROVs will continue to work and search the area and officials did not comment on the "prospects for recovering crew members" or the wreckage.
In a slideshow posted by the same account on TikTok four hours after the original post above (archived here), the user corrected their previous post, writing:
Breaking News
Submarine Update
Apology to Everyone
The Submarine has not yet been located
I had uploaded that the people were rescued from the submarine
I got this info from my sources who I found out were lying about this then immediately deleted my previous video
I apologize to everyone and will 100% validate my future sources
This will not happen again
Below is how the second slideshow appeared at the time of this writing:
(Source: TikTok compilation screenshots taken June 22 19:59:39 UTC 2023)
Lead Stories has also reported that Titan passenger Shahzada Dawood, one of the five people aboard the submersible, was not the vice chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF) and that there is no evidence that the Titanic was intentionally sunk to create the Federal Reserve.
