Titan tragedy: Chilling deep-sea footage offers close look at sunken sub|Watch

Chilling deep-sea footage has offered an extremely close look at the sunken Titan submersible, with its severed tail cone resting on the ocean floor. Last year, the implosion of the submersible led to the tragic deaths of OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, British billionaire Hamish Harding, French diver Paul Henry Nargeolet, and Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son, Suleman.

The never-before-seen footage was released by the Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation on Tuesday, September 17, as part of the ongoing public hearing over the incident. The video shows a fragment of the sub’s tail cone wedged into the sand. A remotely operated camera marked it as being more than 3,775 metres (around 12,500 feet) deep.

“This video led to the conclusive evidence of the catastrophic loss of the submersible Titan and the death of all five members aboard,” the Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation wrote.

David Lochridge’s revelations

Meanwhile, a former OceanGate employee gave evidenceto a US Coast Guard hearing into the sub, revealing shocking details. David Lochridge, OceanGate's former director of marine operations, said that the company "wanted to be able to qualify a pilot in a day, somebody that had never sat in a submersible.” He also said that a PlayStation controller was used to operate the sub, and revealed that the Titan was the “only submersible that wasn't fully classed” by safety agencies. Lochridge also criticised late CEO Rush for being unprofessional in the journey.

Lochridge also revealed that his relationship with the company had "broken down" in 2016, because “maybe came across as the troublemaker" as he was "so outspoken" on "many issues.” He also said that he told "every director within the organisation" about his safety concerns. "It didn't help the relationship, but at the end of the day, safety comes first," he added.