Weeks after the Titanic expedition submersible tragedy, people are still talking about the disaster after it was revealed the ill-fated vessel suffered a "catastrophic implosion."
A close friend of the Titan sub owner–OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, who was onboard the vessel when he died in the depths of the Atlantic with four other passengers–claimed Rush created a "mousetrap for billionaires."
Each passenger paid OceanGate $250,000 to board the chartered Titan sub to explore the remains of the Titanic wreckage.
In an interview on Sunday with 60 Minutes Australia, Karl Stanley—who is a submarine operator who was one of the first passengers onboard the Titan submersible–accused Rush of murdering his passengers in what ended up being the Titan's final voyage.
Said Stanley:
“He definitely knew it was going to end like this.”
“He quite literally and figuratively went out with the biggest bang in human history that you could go out with, and, who was the last person to murder two billionaires at once, and have them pay for the privilege?”
You can view highlights from Stanley's interview here.
When asked if Rush had a "death wish," Stanley responded with:
“The only question in my mind, the only question is when."
"He was risking his life and his customers’ lives to go down in history."
"He’s more famous now than anything else he would have ever done.”
Stanley recalled being concerned when he went on a past descent with Rush and heard “loud gunshot-like noises” every few minutes as they plunged into the depths.
He continued:
“That’s a heck of a sound to hear when you’re that far under the ocean in a craft that has only been down that deep once before."
Stanley said Rush dismissed his concerns after alerting him to "an area of the hull that is breaking down," fearing that it would “only get worse."
You can watch the full interview here.
Viewers found Stanley's statements about his late "friend" to be jarring.
Users couldn't help but notice Stanley's peculiar fashion choice while discussing his critical assessment of the disaster.
People also commented on the interviewer's controlled expression while listening to Stanley's jaw-dropping responses.
As another tactic to instill fear about the submersible, Stanley claimed:
“I literally painted a picture of his wrecked sub at the bottom and even that wasn’t enough."
“There’s no doubt in my mind that it was the carbon fiber tube that was the mechanical part that failed.”
When Stanley was asked his expert opinion about what was the fatal flaw of the Titan that ultimately led to its destruction, he said:
"There's no doubt in my mind it was the carbon fiber tube that was the mechanical part that failed."
Stanley confirmed it was the sound of the tube cracking that he tried warning Rush about.
The deceased Titan passengers had previously signed a waiver before boarding that mentioned the word, "death," eight times.
After five days of searching for the passengers who were initially reported as missing, Coast Guard officials announced that debris was discovered that was "consistent with a catastrophic implosion."
OceanGate issued a statement that said, in part:
"We now believe that our CEO Stockton Rush, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet, have sadly been lost."
"Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time."
"We grieve the loss of life and joy they brought to everyone they knew."
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