James Cameron outraged after tourist submarine disaster near Titanic

The director, accustomed to these explorations around the wreck, points to the lack of security on board the Titan, which was carrying his longtime friend Paul-Henri Nargeolet.

“It’s completely surreal”. james cameron still can’t figure out how such a disaster could have happened in 2023. The submarine embarked for a tourist trip 4,000 meters deep around the wreck of the Titanic has imploded. The five passengers on board were all killed.

Between communication problems and the revelation of poor preparation before the trip, the company in charge of the expedition, OceanGate, is widely singled out. For the filmmaker, such an accident could only have happened with a huge lack of vigilance on their part.

“Since the 1960s, during which there were a few accidents, no one has been killed in deep flooding, and we have made great progress since then. (…) A number of specialist engineers even wrote letters to the company telling them that what they were doing was too experimental to carry passengers”he was indignant on the chain ABC News this Thursday.

Titanic: James Cameron’s interview by Première

The director of titanic himself carried out this type of exploration around the wreck many times for the repair of his film released in 1997. In 2012, he even became the first person to dive solo aboard a submarine. sailor he helped design. “It’s the nightmare we’ve all lived with since we entered this field,” he explained.

For James Cameron, this event also represents a personal tragedy. The Titan housed his long-time friend: the French scuba diving pilot Paul-Henri Nargeolet, who was also a specialist in the liner, nicknamed “Mister Titanic”.

“PH was a friend of mine. You know, it’s a very small community. I have known PH for 25 years, and that he tragically died in this way is almost impossible for me to understand.” he lamented.

Although the US Coast Guard announced the death of the passengers on Thursday, the director considers that this conclusion was quite obvious from Monday, the day of the loss of communication with the craft.

“Within an hour we had confirmation that there had been a loud bang when communications with the submarine were lost. Loud bang on the hydrophone. Loss of transponder. Loss communications. I knew what had happened”he said in an interview for Reuters.

“I am struck by the similarities with the Titanic disaster”

Finally, the director couldn’t help but see similarities in this disaster with the sinking of the Titanic in 1912: different times, but the same lack of safety measures, and the same obsession with innovative performance.

“Titanic’s captain was warned several times about the amount of ice in the water that night, yet he maintained top speed in the dark. Today, for a tragedy to occur because of ignored warnings, in the exact same place, I just find it just mind-boggling”. the filmmaker was offended.

Another link that is more of a coincidence: the wife of one of the passengers (Stockton Rush, co-founder of OceanGate), is none other than the descendant of a couple who disappeared during the sinking of the Titanic. Wendy Rush is indeed the great-great-granddaughter of Isidor and Ida Straus, who stayed on the boat while the passengers tried to escape. If this means anything to you, it’s only to be expected: these are the couple who inspired one of the most poignant scenes in Cameron’s film. In the feature film, we see them embracing in their bed as the water rises rapidly, and waiting for death.

On board the Titan were also British businessman Hamish Harding (58), Pakistani Shahzada Dawood (48), vice-president of the conglomerate Engro, and his son Suleman (19).

James Cameron explains why Jack had to die in Titanic