OceanGate Sub Pieces Reportedly Found In Debris - Meaning The Ship Likely Suffered 'Catastrophic Implosion'

UPDATE 10:45 PST: It looks like this find was as bad as we feared…

Experts involved in the search now believe that among the debris was found the landing frame and rear cover of the missing Titan submersible. Richard Garriott, President of the Explorers’ Club, told DailyMail.com these crucial parts of the ship were what was found by the US Coast Guard. These large pieces being found would mean the ship likely suffered a “catastrophic implosion” — and is now scattered across the ocean floor.

It’s likely the ship suffered a crack and imploded nearly instantly under the extreme pressure at those depths. David Mearns, a friend of two of the men in the Titan, told Sky News:

“A debris field implies there’s a break up of the submersible and at that depth, because we know that they lost communications at around 3,300 m… so that really indicates what is the worst case scenario which is a catastrophic failure, an implosion.”

This, of course, would mean all the men are dead and have been since the incident. Mearns added somberly:

“The only saving grace is that it would have been immediate, literally in milliseconds and the men would have no idea what was happening… My worst fears have now been realized.”

This has yet to be confirmed officially by the Coast Guard, who are holding a press conference to discuss the findings at 12 noon PST.

New information during critical hours.

The US Coast Guard announced on Thursday that a debris field was discovered by a rover near the Titanic site. Currently, experts are evaluating the information and we should know more when they hold a press conference at 3 p.m. ET today in Boston.

As we’ve been reporting, the submersible had about a four-day supply of breathable air when it launched Sunday. We are past the 96-hour mark on the search, as crews have been working around the clock to save the five members on board the vessel.

Be sure to check back here for the latest as this story is rapidly developing…

[Image via OceanGate/YouTube]