Estate of French explorer who died in Titan submersible sues OceanGate
The estate of a French explorer killed along with others in the implosion of the deep-sea submersible Titan last year has sued the company that built it and embarked on the deadly trip to the Titanic wreckage.
The estate of a French explorer killed along with others in the implosion of the deep-sea submersible Titan last year has sued the company that built it and embarked on the deadly trip to the Titanic wreckage.
The lawsuit, filed by the administrator of the estate of Paul-Henri Nargeolet in Washington state, names that company, OceanGate Inc.; the estate of its co-founder and CEO, Stockton Rush; and other companies. It seeks more than $50 million.
It argues Rush used carbon fiber for the craft's hull, a material not previously used in submersibles; that he refused certification that could have provided the outside expertise that could have prevented the tragedy; and that those aboard most likely would have known they were about to die.
Nargeolet, Rush and three other people died when the submersible, which was attempting to reach the wreckage of the Titanic, imploded in June 2023. One of the dead was 19 years old.
"Nargeolet may have died doing what he loved to do, but his death — and the deaths of the other TITAN crew members — was wrongful," says the lawsuit, filed Tuesday in King County.
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