LONDON (AP) 鈥 鈥淭itanic鈥 director James Cameron says the search operation for a deep-sea tourist sub turned into a 鈥渘ightmarish charade鈥 that prolonged the agony of the families of the passengers.
Cameron told the BBC in an interview broadcast on Friday that he "felt in my bones鈥 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 鈥 and that banging noises had been heard 鈥 were a 鈥減rolonged and nightmarish charade.鈥
鈥淭hat was just a cruel, slow turn of the screw for four days as far as I鈥檓 concerned,鈥 he said. "Because I knew the truth on Monday morning.鈥
The Titan launched at 8 a.m. on Sunday, and was reported overdue that afternoon about 435 miles (700 kilometers) south of St. John鈥檚, 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 鈥渆xtreme catastrophic event鈥 had happened as soon as he heard the submersible had lost navigation and communications during its descent.
鈥淔or the sub鈥檚 electronics to fail and its communication system to fail, and its tracking transponder to fail simultaneously 鈥 sub鈥檚 gone,鈥 he told the British broadcaster.
鈥淔or me, there was no doubt. I knew that sub was sitting exactly underneath its last known depth and position, and that鈥檚 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.鈥
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 -- the bottom of the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean.
Cameron said that 鈥渙ne of the saddest aspects of this is how preventable it really was.鈥
鈥淲e now have another wreck that is based on, unfortunately, the same principles of not heeding warnings,鈥 he said.
Deep-sea explorers have voiced concerns about OceanGate Expeditions鈥 Titan submersible, saying it was too experimental to carry passengers.
OceanGate co-founder Guillermo S枚hnlein told Times Radio that chief executive Stockton Rush, who was one of those onboard the Titan, was 鈥渆xtremely committed to safety.鈥
鈥淗e was also extremely diligent about managing risks, and was very keenly aware of the dangers of operating in a deep ocean environment,鈥 said S枚hnlein , who no longer works for OceanGate.
