Family of ‘Mr Titanic’, who died in Titan sub, seeks US$50 million for wrongful death
- French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet was one of five people on the OceanGate vessel that imploded during a voyage to the famed wreck
The family of a French explorer who died in a submersible implosion have filed a wrongful-death lawsuit seeking more than US$50 million that accuses the sub’s operator of gross negligence.
Paul-Henri Nargeolet was among five people who died when the Titan submersible imploded during a voyage to the famed Titanic wreck site in the North Atlantic in June 2023. No one survived the trip aboard the experimental submersible owned by OceanGate, a company in Washington state that has since suspended operations.
Known as “Mr Titanic”, Nargeolet had visited the Titanic site many times before and was regarded as one of the world’s most knowledgeable people about the famous wreck.
Lawyers for his estate said in an emailed statement that the “doomed submersible” had a “troubled history”, and that OceanGate failed to disclose key facts about the vessel and its durability.
“The lawsuit further alleges that even though Nargeolet had been designated by OceanGate to be a member of the crew of the vessel, many of the particulars about the vessel’s flaws and shortcomings were not disclosed and were purposely concealed,” the lawyers, the Buzbee Law Firm of Houston, Texas, said in their statement.
A spokesperson for OceanGate declined to comment on the lawsuit, which was filed on Tuesday in King County, Washington.
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Titanic tour sub suffered ‘catastrophic implosion’ with all 5 on board killed
