THE operator of the Titan submersible vessel which went missing during an expedition to the wreck of the Titanic says that all five passengers have died. 

In a statement released on Thursday evening OceanGate, the company which operates the vessel, said: "We now believe that our CEO Stockton Rush, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet, have sadly been lost.

"These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans. Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time. We grieve the loss of life and joy they brought to everyone they knew.

"This is an extremely sad time for our dedicated employees who are exhausted and grieving deeply over this loss. The entire OceanGate family is deeply grateful for the countless men and women from multiple organisations of the international community who expedited wide-ranging resources and have worked so very hard on this mission.

"We appreciate their commitment to finding these five explorers, and their days and nights of tireless work in support of our crew and their families.

"This is a very sad time for the entire explorer community, and for each of the family members of those lost at sea.

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We respectfully ask that the privacy of these families be respected during this most painful time."

The US Coast Guard said that it had been able to identify parts of the Titan submersible amongst debris found in the search area and that it was consistent with a "catastrophic implosion"

An expert said five different major pieces of debris, including the nose cone, allowed investigators to positively identify the material as belonging to the missing vessel. 

The Coast Guard added that while they would continue to search the area for the bodies it was a "very challenging" environment.