The family of a French explorer who died in a submarine implosion has filed a wrongful death lawsuit seeking more than $50 million ($76 million), accusing the submarine’s operator of gross negligence.
Paul-Henri Nargeolet was among five people who died when the submarine Titan imploded during a voyage to the famous Titanic wreck site in the North Atlantic in June 2023.
No one survived the journey aboard the experimental submersible owned by OceanGate, a Washington state company that has since suspended operations.
Known as “Mr Titanic”, Nargeolet had visited the Titanic site many times before and was considered one of the most knowledgeable people in the world about the famous wreck.
Lawyers for his estate said in an emailed statement that the “doomed submarine” had a “troubled history” and that OceanGate failed to disclose key facts about the vessel and its lifespan.
“The lawsuit further alleges that even though Nargeolet was designated by OceanGate as a member of the vessel’s crew, many details about the vessel’s defects and deficiencies were not disclosed and were intentionally withheld,” said the attorneys, Buzbee Law . The Houston, Texas-based company said in its statement.
A spokesperson for OceanGate declined to comment on the lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday in King County, Washington.
The U.S. Coast Guard quickly launched a high-level investigation, which is ongoing.
A key public hearing forming part of the investigation is scheduled for September.
The Titan made its last dive on June 18, 2023, a Sunday morning, and lost contact with its mother ship about two hours later.
After a search and rescue mission that attracted worldwide attention, the wreckage of the Titan was found on the ocean floor about 300 meters off the bow of the Titanic, about 700 kilometers south of St John’s, Newfoundland.
Stockton Rush, CEO and co-founder of OceanGate, was operating the Titan when it imploded.
In addition to Rush and Nargeolet, the implosion killed British adventurer Hamish Harding and two members of a prominent Pakistani family, Shahzada Dawood and her son Suleman Dawood.