HORRIFYING TikTok videos have shown potential reenactments of the implosion accident that killed five passengers aboard the Titan submersible earlier this week.
Search officials confirmed on Thursday that debris was found in the search for the sub that went missing on Sunday as it was bringing five adventurers to explore the Titanic wreck site.
The five crew are believed to have been killed when the OceanGate sub suffered a “catastrophic implosion” 1,600ft from the Titanic wreckage.
Those onboard would have been killed instantly by the implosion, according to experts.
On Thursday, US Coast Guard spokesman Rear Admiral John Mauger said the debris found was “consistent with the catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber.”
It is believed to have included the landing frame and rear cover of the sub.
He added: “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.”
Animators on TikTok have since shared videos of what may have happened to the sub as it experienced the loss of pressure and imploded.
Officials have still yet to comment on any further details to confirm to videos’ accuracy.
The landing frame and rear cover of the sub being found in debris could mean that it was not as instantly destroyed.
Starfields Studios (@Starfieldstudio) shared an educational demonstration of a submarine implosion.
The clip shows a photo of the Titan submersible as it descends the water and quickly implodes, leaving only a crushed hull behind.
“The instant collapse of the pressure, the hull would immediately heat the air in the sub to around the surface of the sun’s temperature, as a wall of metal and seawater smashed one end of the boat to the other, all in around 30 milliseconds,” reads the text over the clip.
Another animation shared by the account @SincerelyBootz showed a similar incident.
This clip showed a realistic-looking submarine submerged in the water as it experiences a quick implosion.
“So, this is essentially what happens when a submarine implodes underwater,” says a woman in a voice-over.
“It’s very instantaneous as far as deaths when it comes to any lives that might be onboard.”
College student Suleman Dawood, 19, and his dad, businessman Shahzada, were among the five killed.
The others who lost their lives were British billionaire Hamish Harding, OceanGate boss Stockton Rush and French Navy veteran Paul-Henri Nargeolet.
A cause for the catastrophic incident hasn’t been determined, with many experts trying their best to piece together what happened to the Titan.
Experts claim that one tiny flaw in the vessel could result in disaster.
“Unfortunately, at that depth where you have pressure, that’s 380 times what you have at the earth’s surface,” said Maritime historian Dr. Sal Mercogliano.
“That little deformity, that flaw, will lead to catastrophic results.”
He claims that vessels that are exposed to that amount of pressure should be checked thoroughly after each trip.
“I don’t know what OceanGate did after each dive with Titan,” he said.
A deep-sea robot sub found five major pieces of debris on the seabed two miles beneath the surface during the search for the sub on Thursday.
They included parts of the pressure hull and a nose cone.
But it is not clear what caused the vessel – specially designed to withstand extreme depths – to implode as questions about the safety of the mission remain.
OceanGate Expeditions has been criticized for an eight-hour delay before it alerted the US Coast Guard that it had lost contact with the Titan.
The vessel submerged at 8am ET on Sunday around 400 miles southeast of St John’s, Newfoundland.
But roughly after an hour and 45 minutes into the descent, it lost contact with the Polar Prince.
However, it wasn’t reported missing to the US Coast Guard until eight hours later at 4.40pm.
Kathleen Cosnett, a cousin of Hamish Harding, told the Telegraph the eight-hour delay was “far too long”.
Kathleen said: “It’s very frightening. It took so long for them to get going to rescue them, it’s far too long.
“I would have thought three hours would be the bare minimum.”
OceanGate has not explained the delay.
A series of crucial safety blunders were made before the sub vanished on the trip to see the Titanic wreckage on Sunday.
In a haunting interview before the vessel became lost, OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush – who was on board – claimed there should be “limits” to safety precautions.
He told CBS just last year: “You know, at some point, safety is just a pure waste.
“I mean, if you just want to be safe, don’t get out of bed, don’t get in your car, don’t do anything. At some point, you’re going to take some risk, and it really is a risk-reward question.
“I think I can do this just as safely while breaking the rules.”
And it’s been revealed that OceanGate was involved in a huge lawsuit over fears about the sub’s safety.
David Pogue, a CBS Sunday Morning reporter and ex-passenger of the Titan, revealed that while the vessel was lost last year he also questioned the company’s emergency system.
He said the surface vessel was not carrying a distress beacon – which is activated by boaters in emergency situations.
When activated, it alerts a worldwide Search and Rescue (SAR) network designed to send rescuers to the boat’s exact location quickly.
