The five missing people aboard the missing submersible are presumed dead after a U.S. Coast Guard official revealed in a press conference that there appears to have been a “catastrophic implosion” of the vessel. 

The five people aboard included the British billionaire and explorer Hamish Harding, 58; Pakistani-born business magnate Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his 19-year-old son, Suleman; French oceanographer and Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77; and Stockton Rush, the American founder and chief executive of OceanGate the company that operated the vessel. OceanGate Expeditions confirmed the news:

“These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans. Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time.”

Wreckage from the submersible was found by a deep-sea robot sent from a Canadian ship on Thursday (June 22) morning. It was revealed that the debris was found about 1,600 feet from the bow of the Titanic wreckage that the group was exploring.Â