James Cameron speaks on Titan tragedy; calls it a “prolonged nightmare”

James Cameron criticises the Titan tragedy while calling it a "prolonged nightmare" with false hope given to families over four days.

By Bollywood Hungama News Network -

June 23, 2023 - 1:23 PM IST

Renowned filmmaker James Cameron, director of the iconic film Titanic, has conveyed his heartfelt condolences to the families of the five individuals who tragically lost their lives in a devastating incident involving the submersible Titan during an exploration dive to the wreckage of the Titanic. The US Coast Guard confirmed the unfortunate demise of all five individuals. In an interview with ABC News, Cameron expressed his lack of surprise at the news and criticised the false hope given to the families in recent days.

James Cameron speaks on Titan tragedy; calls it a “prolonged nightmare”

Cameron sympathised with the families, stating, "I can't imagine what these poor families have been through over the last four days being given false hope here, banging noises, this and that. It must have been just horrible for them," further describing the situation as a "prolonged nightmare." The acclaimed director condemned the incident, deeming it inexcusable and tragic.

Drawing attention to the warnings issued by experts in the deep-sea exploration community, Cameron revealed that letters had been written to OceanGate Expeditions cautioning against the experimental nature of their submersible. "A number of the top players in the deep submergence engineering community even wrote letters to the company saying that what they were doing was too experimental to carry passengers and that it needed to be certified," he emphasised.

Cameron highlighted the surreal similarities between the Titanic disaster and the implosion of the Titan submersible. Reflecting on the tragedy, he noted, "I'm struck by the similarity of the Titanic disaster itself, where the captain was repeatedly warned about ice ahead of his ship and yet he steamed at full speed into an ice field on a moonless night and many died as a result. For a very similar tragedy, where warnings went unheeded, to take place at the same exact site with all the diving that's going on all around the world, I think it's just astonishing. It's really quite surreal."

The director shared a close friendship of 25 years with Paul-Henri Nargeolet, one of the individuals aboard the ill-fated submersible, and expressed the overwhelming difficulty in processing the tragedy.

Cameron stressed the paramount importance of safety in deep submersible dives, while explaining that it is a mature art with a gold standard safety record. He asserted, "The safety record is the gold standard, absolutely, not only fatalities but no accidents."

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