Canadian police consider criminal probe into catastrophic Titanic tourist sub implosion that killed five men as mothership returns to port and crew face grilling:
Police Canada are considering a criminal investigation into Titanic's catastrophic sub-implosion that killed five men as the mothership returned to port.
RCMP Superintendent Kent Osmond told a news conference today that a decision had begun on whether or not a criminal investigation was necessary.
The relief ship Polar Prince arrived in St. John's Harbour, Newfoundland on Saturday morning and docked around 8.15am local time as the sun broke through the morning fog.
Crew members were seen looking grim as they received a briefing on board the ship, which departed eight days ago with 24 people on board, five of whom died in the sub-disaster.
Police officers and security investigators were seen boarding the vessel after Canada's Transportation Security Administration (TSB) announced it was launching an investigation into the offshore vessel's deadly implosion.
Superintendent Osmond said: "Today the RCMP opened an investigation into the circumstances leading to the deaths of the five people aboard the submersible Titan."
Osmond said: "Today the RCMP launched an investigation into the circumstances leading to the deaths of the five people aboard the submersible Titan."
"A team of investigators has been assembled for the sole purpose of answering the question of whether or not a full investigation is warranted."
"Such an investigation will only proceed if an investigation of the circumstances indicates that a criminal, federal or state law may have been violated."
“It would have been inappropriate for the RCMP to take this action during recovery efforts.
"Following the US Coast Guard's announcement earlier this week, we will now address the circumstances that led to these deaths."
"Our investigators have been engaged and active in this manner since this morning."
The Polar Prince had participated in a massive search operation for the Titan about 435 miles south of St. John's that ended Thursday with confirmation that the submarine had imploded deep underwater, likely shortly after its launch on Sunday.
TSB investigators were seen boarding the Polar Prince shortly after she docked in St. John.
TSB's Cliff Harvey said at a news conference that interviews had taken place with those on board and they were not detaining anyone.
TSB officials said their job is to find out why the incident happened and reduce the risk of it happening again.
The TSB stated that the voyage data recorder records all audio signals from the bridge and that these logs are under review.
Rigid inflatable boats were also spotted, appearing to tow the Titan submersible's launch platform away from the Polar Prince and further along the harbour.
Tourists gathered on the quay with morbid curiosity, some posing for selfies with the arctic prince in the background.
A man who photographed the scene said to his girlfriend, "Oh wow." How good. Tragic but neat.
Polar Prince is a decommissioned Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker now owned by Miawpukek Horizon Maritime Service Ltd and chartered by extreme tourism company OceanGate as a support vessel for Titan's deadly dive.
OceanGate founder and CEO Stockton Rush was killed aboard the American company's submersible along with prominent British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, British adventurer Hamish Harding and French Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet .
Two Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) vessels involved in the search operation also returned to St. John's harbor on Friday evening, with one remaining at the scene of the disaster.
A crowd gathered near the quay to witness the return of CCGS Terry Fox and CCGS Ann Harvey while CCGS John Cabot stayed on site to provide assistance and assistance with salvage and salvage operations.
In a statement released ahead of their ships' arrival in port, the CCG said, "The Canadian Coast Guard extends its sincere condolences to the families and friends of the crew of Titan for their tragic loss."
'Search and rescue operations have concluded.'
Now authorities from the US and Canada have begun the process of investigating the cause of the Titan's fatal implosion.
The US Coast Guard said on Friday that a formal inquiry has not yet been launched, because maritime agencies are still busy searching the area where the vessel was destroyed.
Debris was located about 12,500 feet underwater, several hundred feet away from the Titanic wreckage it was on its way to explore.
