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The family of a Dubai-based explorer killed on a Titanic tourist submersible say he will “leave a gap in our lives that can never be filled”.
Hamish Harding, who was to turn 59 on Saturday, was among a crew of five on board the Titan submersible that disappeared on Sunday.
A desperate search ended in tragedy on Thursday after authorities said the vessel had imploded.
It followed the discovery of debris at the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean near the shipwreck of the Titanic.
The US Coast Guard said Titan probably suffered a “catastrophic implosion” in the North Atlantic waters and there were no survivors.
Mr Harding, a British billionaire, died along with Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, French navy pilot Paul-Henry Nargeolet and the boss of tour company OceanGate, Stockton Rush.
'A passionate explorer'
“Today, we are united in grief with the other families who also lost their loved ones on the Titan submersible,” said a statement issued by Action Aviation, an aircraft broker that Mr Harding owns, in the early hours of Friday.
“Hamish Harding was a loving husband to his wife and a dedicated father to his two sons, whom he loved deeply. To his team in Action Aviation, he was a guide, an inspiration, a support and a living legend.
“He was one of a kind and we adored him. He was a passionate explorer – whatever the terrain – who lived his life for his family, his business and for the next adventure.”
The statement added that Mr Harding died “doing what he loved”.
“He will leave a gap in our lives that can never be filled.
“We know that Hamish would have been immensely proud to see how nations, experts, industry colleagues and friends came together for the search and we extend our heartfelt thanks for all their efforts.”
A dear friend who "pushed boundaries"
Mr Harding was remembered by friend Richard Garriot de Cayeux, president of the Explorers Club, which Mr Harding helped found.
“Hamish Harding is a dear friend to me personally and to The Explorers Club,” Mr Garriot de Cayeux said.
“He holds several world records and has continued to push dragons off maps, both in person and through supporting expeditions and worthy causes.”
He said club members Mr Harding and Paul-Henry Nargeolet were both “drawn to explore” and did so “in the name of meaningful science for the betterment of mankind”.
“They pushed themselves in their entrepreneurial pursuits as they did in exploration,” he wrote.
Mark Hannaford, a fellow member of the Explorers Club who lives in Dubai, also paid tribute to Mr Harding, saying he was a “good father” and someone who “pushed boundaries”.
He also shared a text which Mr Harding sent to him before the dive began, which read: “Diving to Titanic later today! If weather holds.”
Mr Hannaford, 58, who is also the chief executive of World Extreme Medicine, said: “As explorers, we are typically an optimistic bunch, and whilst there was a slim hope of survival, we strove to recover and save Hamish and his fellow travellers.
“But fate has not allowed that.”
Hope faded after frantic search
Earlier on Thursday, a robotic deep-sea vessel spotted debris a few hundred metres from the Titanic, which lies on the ocean floor about 3,800 metres below the surface. It sank in 1912.
Undersea expert Paul Hankin told the news conference that five major pieces of the submersible had been found, including the vessel's nose cone and the front end bell of the pressure hull.
“That was the first indication that there was a catastrophic event,” Mr Hankin said.
“Shortly thereafter, we found a second, smaller debris field. Within that debris field, we found the other end of the pressure hull.”
David Mearns, a friend of two of the men on the submersible, told Sky News that the debris also included “a landing frame and a rear cover from the submersible”.
The water pressure at the depths Titan was plumbing is about 400 times that of the surface, so even a tiny leak could have instantaneously led to a failure of the vessel.
Confirmation of the discovery came as the desperate search for the Titan reached a critical stage, with the small vessel's air supply forecast to have fully or nearly run out by Thursday morning.
The van-sized submersible began what was to be a two-hour descent at 8am on Sunday but lost contact with its support ship.
The tourists on board had each paid $250,000 for the ride down to the world's most famous shipwreck.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, authorities said “banging” sounds had been detected in the search area, giving loved ones hope that perhaps Titan was intact.
But further analysis found that there “doesn’t appear to be any connection between the noises” and Titan, Rear Adm John Mauger of the US coastguard said.
“This was a catastrophic implosion of the vessel which would have generated a significant broadband sound down there that the sonar buoys would have picked up,” he said.
