U.S. Coast Guard says debris field found near Titanic during search for sub

The U.S. Coast Guard said Thursday that an underwater vessel has located a debris field near the Titanic in the search for a missing submersible with five people aboard, a potential breakthrough in an increasingly urgent around-the-clock effort.

The U.S. Coast Guard said Thursday that an underwater vessel has located a debris field near the Titanic in the search for a missing submersible with five people aboard, a potential breakthrough in an increasingly urgent around-the-clock effort.

Shortly before the coast guard's announcement Thursday afternoon, OceanGate Expeditions, the company that owned the submersible, said they believe the men aboard to be lost.

"We grieve the loss of life and joy they brought to everyone they knew," said the company in a statement Thursday afternoon.

OceanGate Chief executive officer Stockton Rush, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, British aviator Hamish Harding and French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet were all on the submersible. Communication with the Titan submersible was lost Sunday, triggering an international search and rescue operation.