Plaque to be laid next to Titanic in honour of Titan submersible victim
12 July 2024, 16:06
A plaque will be laid next to the Titanic in honour of one of the victims of last year’s Titan submersible disaster.
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77-year-old Paul-Henri Nargeolet, known as “Mr Titanic”, was on board the “experimental” OceanGate vessel when it was destroyed.
The French expert, who was one of five men killed in the disaster, made 37 trips to the Titanic in his life and was part of the first-ever manned mission to the ill-fated ship.
Alongside the plague, a memorial service for all five victims, as well as the 1,500 passengers who died on the Titanic, will be held at sea.
The plague will be laid as part of a reconnaissance mission led by HMS Titanic Inc, which owns exclusive salvage rights to the liner that sank in 1912.
Unlike last year’s doomed mission, this visit to the Titanic will be unmanned, the BBC reports.
Paying tribute to Nargeolet, friend and historian Rory Golden said: "It's tough but the thing about exploration is that there's an urge and a drive to keep going.
“And we're doing that because of that passion PH had for continuous exploration.”
“We want to see the wreck with a clarity and precision that’s never before been achieved,” co-expedition lead David Gallo told the BBC.
Alongside the French explorer, OceanGate owner Stockton Rush, UK billionaire Hamish Harding, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son, Suleman died in the disaster.
It is thought researchers will likely never determine the exact location or reason that caused the tragic event.
The doomed group of five were travelling 12,500 feet below sea level when the deep sea submersible lost communication.
Debris was found on the sea floor days later and rescuers said that the sub had suffered a catastrophic implosion.
Following the incident, it emerged that safety concerns had been raised multiple times before, with several people including Ross Kemp and YouTuber Mr Beast having dropped out of doing similar trips.
As the Titanic wreckage is in international waters and the OceanGate expeditions were not operating out of a port, the trips were not subject to safety regulations.
