Photo:Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
For the past five days, the nation has been transfixed on the heartbreaking disappearance of five passengers aboard theTitan, a22-foot submersiblethat went missing en route to theTitanicwreckage on Sunday.
Today the United States Coast Guard announced during a press conference thatdebris found near theTitanicis in fact that of theTitan. An ROV discovered the debris located 1,600 feet from the bow of the tailbone of theTitanicwreckage on the seafloor, and “the debris field is consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vessel,” the U.S. Coast Guard said, meaning that it would have been a quick implosion with no possible chance of survival.
“This is an extremely sad time for our dedicated employees who are exhausted and grieving deeply over this loss,” the statement said in part.
The U.S. Coast Guard said that the implosion came after a loss of pressure in theTitanchamber. The passengers on the vessel were OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, Pakistani businessmanShahzada Dawood, his son Suleman Dawood,TitanicexpertPaul-Henri Nargeoletand British billionaireHamish Harding, PEOPLE has learned.
According to CBS journalistDavid Pogue— who spoke with PEOPLE one day before the debris from the vessel was discovered — he was required to sign a waiver before his dive on theTitanlast summer, which he says is “quite clear about all the ways that you could be permanently disabled, emotionally traumatized or killed.”
However, trial lawyer and former federal prosecutorNeama Rahmanitells PEOPLE that the waiver does not protect OceanGate from all types of criminal action in light of the passengers’ death.
“You can only waive a simple negligence," Rahmani says. “By law, you can’t waive gross negligence. So this is above and beyond, you know. So, whatever waiver they signed … You can waive known risks, but you can’t waive something more than that, which again, I’m certainly no expert in these types of vessels, but this seems like something more than simple negligence.”
Left, Suleman Dawood and Shahzada Dawood.DAWOOD HERCULES CORPORATION/AFP via Getty Images
DAWOOD HERCULES CORPORATION/AFP via Getty Images
“It really comes down to the nature of the action and notice,” Rahmani adds. “If the company knows that this is dangerous, they’re ignoring warnings, they’re not participating in safety protocols or reviews, that type of thing that’s standard in the industry … If they’re not participating in what’s the industry standard or the custom, that’s evidence that can come in at any trial — whether it’s civil or criminal, of negligence or criminal recklessness.”
Rahmani says that he believes a civil lawsuit is “100 percent certain.”
“The civil lawsuit is pretty much absolute certainty," he claims. “The criminal prosecution is a bigger question. It really depends on the factors that we talked about, you know. What did they know and what did they do in response? Knowing how high profile this is, I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a criminal prosecution of people who were responsible for this.”
One thing that could possibly make criminal charges a bit harder is the fact that OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush is among the passengers who are presumed dead after the submersible’s implosion.
“If [the company] ignored safety precautions and so forth, then [the company] can be held criminally responsible,” Rahmani says. “Of course you can always sue a company.“However, Rahmani says it’s hard to determine what type of charges the company could face at this time without gathering more information.
“It’s really going to depend on what they did and what steps they took to make the vessel safe,” he says. “If they ignored warnings from employees or regulators — whether it’s in the form of civil lawsuit or criminal subpoenas or search warrants — prosecutors and lawyers are going to get that information.”
Paul-Henry Nargeolet, Hamish Harding, Stockton Rush.EVARISTO SA/AFP via Getty; Victoria Sirakova/Getty; OceanGate
EVARISTO SA/AFP via Getty; Victoria Sirakova/Getty; OceanGate
“It’s a high profile case,” he continues. “When billionaires die, that’s something that gets a lot of attention. If there’s a basis for manslaughter charges, people will be charged in a case like this, absolutely.”
source: people.com
