The U.S. Coast Guard is leading an international investigation into the implosion of Titanic-bound Titan sub that killed five people.
An international investigation into why the Titan sub imploded and killed everyone aboard as it headed toward the Titanic's wreckage is being led by the U.S. Coast Guard.
The "highest level" probe was announced Sunday at a press conference in Boston, led by Coast Guard investigators.
Capt. Jason Neubauer said their first priority is recovering debris from the small sub. Precautions will be taken if human remains are found, he said.
The Titan was on a dive to the Titanic wreck on June 18 when it imploded, killing all five people inside the vessel. Communications with the sub were lost one hour and 45 minutes after its dive began.
A frantic search ensued in a race against time as officials said there was only enough oxygen onboard for 96 hours.
But on Thursday, the Coast Guard announced that the OceanGate sub had suffered a "catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber," and said debris on the Atlantic Ocean floor were from the missing vessel.
The new investigation will determine if criminal charges should be filed, officials said. The probe will also make recommendations for avoiding future disasters, the Coast Guard said.
Onboard the sight-seeing sub were OceanGate founder Stockton Rush, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, his 19-year-old son Suleman, French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet and Britain-born billionaire adventurer Hamish Harding.
"We are communicating with family members and I, I'm not getting into the details of the recovery operations, but we are taking all precautions on site if we are to encounter any human remains," Neubauer said at Sunday's press conference.
Controversy has followed the disaster, with questions arising about safety measures taken by the private company offering high-priced journeys to the Titanic's wreckage. Descendants of those who perished in the 1912 disaster, which killed more than 1,500 people, said the trips are the equivalent of grave robbing.
"Would you open up graves at a grave site and rob it? I would certainly hope not," a descendant of two waiters on the Titanic told Inside Edition last week. "And that's exactly what they are doing on the Titanic," he said.
