'Alive one millisecond, dead the next': Former Navy doctor reveals exactly what would've happened during Titanic Five's tragic final moment - saying 'they would've been crushed instantly'

 'Alive one millisecond, dead the next': Former Navy doctor reveals exactly what would've happened during Titanic Five's tragic final moment - saying 'they would've been crushed instantly'

Dr Dale Molé, former director of underwater medicine and radiotherapy for the US Navy, told DailyMail.com the deaths were quick and painless, with deaths almost instantaneous due to the extraordinary forces exerted by the ocean in depth.

Molé said: "It would have happened so suddenly that they wouldn't even have known there was a problem or what had happened to them."

"It's like being here for a minute and then the switch goes off." One millisecond you're alive and the next millisecond you're dead."

The crew was more than 2 miles below the surface of the sea, which would have generated pressures in excess of 5,500 pounds per square inch (PSI).

On board the ship is OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, 61; Paul-Henri (PH) Nargeolet, French Navy veteran, 77; British billionaire Hamish Harding, 58; Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, 41; and his son Suleman, who was only 19 years old.

The tiny crewed ship was protected by a hyperbaric chamber, a sealed capsule well above ambient pressure, a pressurized gas system to control the internal pressure, and a breathing gas supply for the occupants.

Molé said: “The pressure hull is the chamber where the occupants stay. It's like they hit rock bottom when the pressure vessel imploded, and when it ruptures, it's usually all at once.

"It looks like it was the carbon fiber cylinder that gave way and caused the implosion."

How the pressure chamber was pierced remains unclear. However, such an implosion could be due to a leak, a power outage, or a small fire due to an electrical short.

The result would have been a violent and instantaneous implosion as highly pressurized water rushed in from the outside, ripping off the rear cover and landing frame, tearing the submarine's hull apart and crushing those inside.

Molé said: "They would have been torn to pieces."

"An implosion is when the pressure wave is directed inward, whereas an explosion is when the pressure wave or shock wave emanates from any source."

He explained it as an overinflated balloon - the balloon will eventually burst if too much pressure is applied.

The reverse happens during an implosion: if there is more pressure on the outside than the container can handle, the inside collapses.

Molé said, "If someone stood on an empty soda can, it would support your weight, but if you then pressed the sides, the can would immediately collapse."

He added: "It's just the place where debris and fragments and everything else is pouring inward due to a strong outside force." In this case, it was the sea.

"At least at Titanic's depth, which is 12,500 feet, the external pressure would be 6,000 pounds per square inch. It is this pressure that, if there were a weak point in the hull, would cause the hull to collapse and suddenly create a shock wave. An implosion can certainly be just as destructive as an explosion.

According to Scientific American, had the submersible been near the Titanic, it would have been subjected to more pressure than a great white shark bite.

Nicolai Roterman, a deep-sea ecologist at the University of Portsmouth, UK, agreed that with such an implosion, the pressure would have killed the occupants almost instantly.

"If there were any breach in the hull, the occupants would succumb to the sea almost instantly."

Tributes were posted and released following news of the Titanic Five's deaths on Thursday.

Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77 - commonly known as PH - was part of the first human expedition to visit the Titanic wreck in 1987 and had visited the site at least 35 times. His family said her death broke her heart.

"He is a man who will be remembered as one of the greatest deep-sea explorers in modern history. When you think of the Titanic and everything we know about the ship today, you think of Paul-Henri Nargeolet and his legendary work.”

"But what we will remember most is his big heart, his incredible sense of humor and how much he loved his family. He will be missed today and every day for the rest of our lives.

Harding's company, Action Aviation, also released a statement following the news of his death.

“Hamish Harding was a loving husband to his wife and a devoted father to two sons whom he loved dearly. For his Action Aviation team, he was a leader, inspiration, supporter and living legend,” the statement said.

The Dawood family said they are grateful to those who took part in the international rescue operation. Their works are "a source of strength," Hussain and the Kulsum Dawood family said in a statement.

“We are also indebted to our friends, family, colleagues and supporters around the world who supported us in this difficult hour,” the statement said. "The tremendous love and support we receive continues to help us get through this unimaginable loss."