Other experts in the industry and a whistle-blowing employee raised alarms in 2018, criticizing OceanGate for opting against seeking certification and operating as an experimental vessel.
"The debris field here is consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vehicle," Mauger said.
Sidonie Nargeolet said her 77-year-old father had been near the Titanic wreck 30 times, the first in 1987.
Rush, who is married to Wendy Rush, is chief executive of US-based OceanGate Expeditions which operates the Titan submersible.
OceanGate believes that the passengers on the Titan submersible have "sadly been lost" in a statement cited by CNN.
60-year-old Arthur Liobl described his trip aboard the Titan as a "suicide mission."
The issue was that OceanGate did not go through the industry's recognized certification process for the sub's design, fabrication and testing.
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