Titanic tourist sub photos show wreckage being brought ashore

Parts of the tourist submersible that imploded on a deep dive to the Titanic, killing five people, have been seen for the first time since the incident.

Metal wreckage from the Titan sub was unloaded from the Horizon Arctic ship in St John's, Canada, on Wednesday.

Photographs showed metal pieces from the sub covered in tarps before cranes lifted them on to trucks.

US Coast Guard officials have said the submersible's landing frame and a rear cover were found among the debris.

All five people on board the vessel died on 18 June after it imploded about 90 minutes into a dive to view the famous 1912 shipwreck, which sits at a depth of 3,800m (12,500ft) in the north Atlantic.

The submersible's construction included at least one titanium end cap, a titanium ring and a carbon fibre cylinder.

• Human remains thought to be found in Titan sub debris

The debris brought ashore on Wednesday appeared to include at least one titanium end cap, the sub's porthole with its window missing, as well as a titanium ring, landing frame and the end equipment bay, according to BBC science correspondent Jonathan Amos.

The bits of debris were carefully loaded onto trucks by workers in the port of St John's

A piece of the submersible that contained the porthole, shown with its window missing, appeared to be brought ashore

One part appeared to be of the tail section of the OceanGate Titan sub that would normally be covered by the fuselage

A crane lifted some of the debris after they were salvaged by recovery workers

Some of the debris was covered up as crews loaded parts onto trucks

Wires from a metal part of the Titan could be seen

Pieces that resembled the submersible's landing legs were also brought ashore

A titanium ring appeared to be hoisted into the air by a crane

So far, five major pieces have been found below the surface in a large debris field near the bow of the Titanic, according to the last update from the US Coast Guard.

The agency has launched an investigation into the causes of the Titan disaster, which is in its initial phase.

Officials have said they will try to establish what caused the implosion, and make recommendations to prevent future tragedies.

The head of OceanGate, which organised the dive, 61-year-old Stockton Rush; British explorer Hamish Harding, 58; Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his son, Suleman Dawood, 19; and French diver Paul-Henry Nargeolet, 77, all died in the incident.

Titanic Sub Search

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OceanGate has since been criticised for its safety practices. Former employees had raised several concerns about the Titan sub, which was not subject to regulation.

In email messages seen by the BBC, Mr Rush had previously dismissed safety worries from one expert, saying he was "tired of industry players who try to use a safety argument to stop innovation".

In a statement last week, OceanGate said it was "an extremely sad time for our employees who are exhausted and grieving deeply over this loss".

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