“What Was That Bang”: When OceanGate CEO’s Wife Heard Titan Implosion

Wendy Rush, the spouse of OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, knew precisely when the Titan submersible carrying her husband and 4 others imploded. She was on the assist ship Polar Prince, monitoring the mission, when she heard a sudden loud pop by means of the communication system throughout the vessel’s 2023 dive to the Titanic wreck.

“What was that bang?” Wendy Rush requested, unaware it was the precise second the Titan imploded deep within the North Atlantic, instantly killing all five people on board.

Newly launched footage from the US Coast Guard, obtained by the BBC, reveals the tragic closing moments of communication. Wendy, additionally a director at OceanGate, was carefully monitoring the dive when the sub immediately went silent, about 90 minutes into its descent. The Titan was practically 11,000 ft underwater when it suffered the catastrophic implosion.

BBC and Netflix are releasing documentaries concerning the Oceangate catastrophe. In this video the sound of the implosion could be heard. It feels like a violent method to go. pic.twitter.com/D9AfK43C9n

— Ham (@O_MMHam) May 23, 2025

The blast immediately killed Stockton Rush, British explorer Hamish Harding, Titanic skilled Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Pakistani billionaire Shahzada Dawood, and his 19-year-old son Suleman.

The BBC documentary, Implosion: The Titanic Sub Disaster, reveals the sub’s carbon fibre hull had already proven indicators of structural failure throughout a earlier dive a yr earlier than the tragedy. 

“Delamination at dive 80 was the start of the top,” mentioned US Coast Guard Lieutenant Commander Katie Williams. “And each one that stepped onboard the Titan after dive 80 was risking their life.”

Despite warnings from specialists, OceanGate continued utilizing the sub. The lethal journey in 2023 was its 88th dive and its first deep-sea mission of the yr.

Adding to the confusion, the assist ship obtained a message from Titan simply after the implosion, reporting it had dropped two weights to return to the floor. Wendy Rush learn that message aloud, nonetheless unaware of what occurred.

At the identical time, underwater sensors picked up the sound of the implosion – a pointy blast adopted by silence – a video of which was released earlier this year.

The clip, shared by the US Coast Guard and sourced from NOAA, accommodates a sudden static burst, an enormous growth, and a chilling return to white noise. It is believed to be the ultimate sound of the vessel earlier than it collapsed below excessive ocean strain.

Following the catastrophe, the Coast Guard recovered wreckage from the ocean flooring, together with components of Titan, clothes, enterprise playing cards, and Titanic-themed stickers. The company is anticipated to launch its closing report later this yr.