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㽶ƵֱTitanic㽶Ƶֱ director says search for missing sub became a 㽶Ƶֱnightmarish charade㽶Ƶֱ

James Cameron: 㽶ƵֱThat was just a cruel, slow turn of the screw for four days as far as I㽶Ƶֱm concerned㽶Ƶֱ

㽶ƵֱTitanic㽶Ƶֱ director James Cameron says turned into a 㽶Ƶֱnightmarish charade㽶Ƶֱ that prolonged .

Cameron told the BBC in an interview broadcast on Friday that he 㽶Ƶֱfelt in my bones㽶Ƶֱ that the had been lost soon after he heard it had lost contact with the surface during its descent to the wreckage of the ocean liner at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.

He said focus in the media over the next few days about the submersible having 96 hours of oxygen supply 㽶Ƶֱ and that banging noises had been heard 㽶Ƶֱ were a 㽶Ƶֱprolonged and nightmarish charade.㽶Ƶֱ

㽶ƵֱThat was just a cruel, slow turn of the screw for four days as far as I㽶Ƶֱm concerned,㽶Ƶֱ he said. 㽶ƵֱBecause I knew the truth on Monday morning.㽶Ƶֱ

The Titan launched at 8 a.m. on Sunday, and was reported overdue that afternoon about 435 miles (700 kilometers) south of St. John㽶Ƶֱs, Newfoundland. On Thursday, U.S. Coast Guards said debris had been found on the ocean bed. Authorities said all five people aboard the submersible died when the vessel imploded.

Cameron, who has made more than 30 dives to the wreckage of the Titanic, said he knew an 㽶Ƶֱextreme catastrophic event㽶Ƶֱ had happened as soon as he heard the submersible had lost navigation and communications during its descent.

㽶ƵֱFor the sub㽶Ƶֱs electronics to fail and its communication system to fail, and its tracking transponder to fail simultaneously 㽶Ƶֱ sub㽶Ƶֱs gone,㽶Ƶֱ he told the British broadcaster.

㽶ƵֱFor me, there was no doubt. I knew that sub was sitting exactly underneath its last known depth and position, and that㽶Ƶֱs exactly where they found it. There was no search. When they finally got an ROV down there that could make the depth, they found it within hours. Probably within minutes.㽶Ƶֱ

The filmmaker has been an oceanography enthusiast since childhood and has made dozens of deep-sea dives, including one to the deepest point on Earth 㽶Ƶֱ the bottom of the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean.

Cameron said that 㽶Ƶֱone of the saddest aspects of this is how preventable it really was.㽶Ƶֱ

㽶ƵֱWe now have another wreck that is based on, unfortunately, the same principles of not heeding warnings,㽶Ƶֱ he said.

Deep-sea explorers have voiced concerns about OceanGate Expeditions㽶Ƶֱ Titan submersible, saying it was too experimental to carry passengers.

OceanGate co-founder Guillermo Söhnlein told Times Radio that chief executive Stockton Rush, who was one of those onboard the Titan, was 㽶Ƶֱextremely committed to safety.㽶Ƶֱ

㽶ƵֱHe was also extremely diligent about managing risks, and was very keenly aware of the dangers of operating in a deep ocean environment,㽶Ƶֱ said Söhnlein , who no longer works for OceanGate.

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