BOSTON, June 22, 2023 – Debris on the ocean floor near the wreck of the Titanic was confirmed to be from the tourist submersible Titan, leading authorities to announce today that the sub suffered from a catastrophic implosion. No remains of the five occupants on board have been located.
All major US television networks interrupted their regular programming at 3:00 pm EDT for a press conference that presented the recent findings of the unprecedented search and rescue operation. The search team identified specific sections of the submersible and continue to search for other pieces and for human remains. The names of each of the five occupants – three multi-millionaires, the son of one of them, and the pilot – were released to the public after next of kin had been notified. Further updates will be forthcoming over the next few days.
In the Mediterranean Sea, another refugee boat from Libya, or maybe Tunisia, capsized and sank, most likely drowning all of its occupants. The hundred, or maybe two hundred, unknown refugees were probably fleeing extreme poverty, a complete lack of medical care, and threats to their safety in their home countries, and they most assuredly spent all the money they had to buy passage to Europe aboard the severely overcrowded and poorly constructed boat. They might have been headed for an Italian island, maybe Pantelleria or Lampedusa, or maybe even Greece. This brings the total number of African and Middle Eastern refugees who have died at sea this year to over 800, or maybe 1000, or possibly around 2000. Details have been hard to obtain as media coverage, particularly by North American and Western European broadcasters, of this sinking and loss of lives continues to be set aside in lieu of the intense focus on the now-lost submersible in the North Atlantic Ocean. No further updates on this situation are expected.