Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Claim
Photo of debris of Titan submersible, which imploded during its descent to the Titanic shipwreck site in June 2023.
Fact
Image found to be from 2004, showing the shoes of a probable victim of the Titanic disaster.
A photo, purportedly showing a pair of shoes and other wreckage on the ocean floor, has been shared by multiple social media users, claiming it to be the debris field of the missing Titan submersible, which was on voyage to the Titanic shipwreck. Authorities have reportedly confirmed on June 22 that the Titan submersible imploded during its descent, killing all five men on board, while stating that a debris field was found near the Titanic with debris consistent with the tourist sub.
The archived versions of the tweets can be seen here and here.
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The Titan sub tragedy
The Titan submersible, operated by OceanGate Expeditions, first disappeared on Sunday (June 18) after losing contact with its support ship, less than two hours into the 12,500-foot-deep journey to the wreckage of the Titanic, which sank in 1912 and now rests at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. The submersible had five passengers on board—Captain Hamish Harding, Shahzada Dawood, Suleman Dawood, Paul-Henri Nargeolet and Stockton Rush.
Thursday’s announcement brought an end to five days of frenzied search-and-rescue efforts involving military and research vessels from multiple countries, operating on the assumption that the submersible might still be intact, and that its occupants could be alive, even as their oxygen reserves began to run out.
Fact Check
Newschecker ran a keyword search for “Titan debris pictures”, which threw up several news reports of the detection of the debris by a remotely operated vehicle, located on the ocean floor roughly 500m from the bow of the Titanic. Dive experts told the BBC that the debris includes “a landing frame and a rear cover from the submersible”, while the US Coast Guard said a “debris field” had been found and is being analysed. We did not find any pictures issued by the concerned authorities across the news reports, raising our doubts. Similar reports can be seen here and here.
A reverse image search of the viral picture led us to this The Independent article, dated October 30, 2020, titled “Plan to retrieve radio on Titanic raises question whether it still contains human remains”. The news report features the viral photo, captioning it as Titanic artefacts, proving that the viral image is not of the submersible’s debris.
A relevant keyword search led us to this Los Angeles Times report, dated October 18, 2020, featuring the same photo. “An image from 2004 shows the shoes of a possible victim of the Titanic disaster,” read the photo, crediting it to the Institute for Exploration and Center for Archaeological Oceanography / University of Rhode Island / NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration via AP. A similar report can be seen here.
Stock photography agency Alamy also has the same photo, stating that it is a 2004 image provided by the University of Rhode Island’s Institute for Exploration and Center for Archaeological Oceanography and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Ocean Exploration, which shows the shoes of one of the possible victims of the Titanic disaster.
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Conclusion
2004 photo of probable Titanic debris falsely linked to Titan submersible tragedy.
Result: False
Source
The Independent, October 18, 2020
Los Angeles Times, October 18, 2020
Alamy
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Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
