US couple drops lawsuit in opposition to OceanGate CEO after Titan submersible tragedy

By India Today World Desk: A pair within the United States dropped a lawsuit in opposition to OceanGate after the corporate’s CEO was killed when the Titan submersible imploded underwater final week. OceanGate CEO, Stockton Rush, together with 4 others, died onboard the submersible when the vessel started its journey to discover the shipwreck of the well-known Titanic, which had sunk in 1912.

As per stories, the couple –Marc and Sharon Hagle– had filed a lawsuit in February claiming Stockton Rush had repeatedly cancelled the deep-sea dive they’d booked on the Titan submersible in 2018. However, upon receiving the information that Rush had died, the couple mentioned that the “honour, respect and dignity” of the victims had been extra essential than their declare.

“Like most around the world, we have watched the coverage of the OceanGate Titan capsule with great concern and an enormous amount of sadness and compassion for the families of those who lost their lives,” the couple was quoted as saying by Fox35.

In gentle of those tragic occasions, we’ve knowledgeable our attorneys to withdraw all authorized actions in opposition to Stockton,” the couple added.

ALSO READ | Probe into cause of Titanic sub’s ‘implosion’ will continue, say officials

The fatal deep-sea expedition in the North Atlantic claimed five lives, including a 19-year-old boy from Pakistan, Suleman Dawood, who had joined the others only to please his father who was onboard too. The underwater voyage was estimated at 3,700 metres below the surface of the ocean. The submersible was declared destroyed by the US Coast Guard after the Titan sub had gone missing on June 18. It was untraceable for nearly two days.

CASE AGAINST OCEANGATE

As per the Hagle couple’s lawsuit, a deposit amount of $210,000 was made to OceanGate in the hope of becoming among the first of the deep-sea exploration company’s paying customers. They sued the entity in Orange County after the couple became doubtful about the submersible’s readiness for the planned departure date.

ALSO READ | Separated by 111 years, how Titan and Titanic’s fates were intertwined

Now, the couple has requested a refund of their deposit and stated they wanted to withdraw from the underwater expedition.

The Titan, built by a company called OceanGate, had made previous dives to the wreck of the Titanic. But on June 18, the vessel finally began its descent towards the Titanic but lost contact with the controlling ship, Polar Prince, within two hours.

Four days later, authorities said that all five crew members on the submersible Titan were killed in a “catastrophic implosion”.

Rush died together with Pakistani billionaire Shahzada Dawood, his son Suleman, British billionaire Hamish Harding and French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet.

ALSO READ | Titan is destroyed: What occurs throughout an implosion