briefing that i wanted to hear. my condolences to the families of the lost crew and, you know, i just lost a titanic colleague, my friend, p.h. nargeolet. so still processing this. >> paul-henry nargeolet was a friend of yours. he died doing what he love. in all appearances, he died in an instant. what are your thoughts on that? >> yeah, p.h. has been involved in the titanic expeditions for many years. the first time i worked with him was in 1998 on expedition 98. that's how we met and became friends. he monitored me along the way over the years. like you said, he's according to what they're saying, he's lost at the titanic wreck site. you know, doing what he loved doing, exploring and adventuring. >> the coast guard was not optimistic about recovering the remains.
>> not because of the pressure but the environmental factors down there. i think there's not much chance, unfortunately. >> so this is a burial at sea for lack of a better description? >> exactly. can i make a quick statement here? you mention the submersible was filled with five explorers. that's not true. you only had one professional, one real explorer onboard and that was p.h. nargeolet, the french naval captain. i had dinner with him six weeks ago. the rest really didn't have the experience to safely operate in that, and that makes me heartsick along with the way that thing was constructed. >> rachel, how important is it for the debris that has now been spotted on the bottom to be
so, you know, our thoughts with all of their families at this point as well. >> let's give you a little bit more information about who was on board, hammish harding, as you mentioned, a 58-year-old british billionaire, he visited the south pole with astronaut buzz aldrin. he holds three guinness world records, including one more more than a four-hour dive in the deepest part of the mariana trench. so he's familiar with this deep sea diving or he was. he was also on blue origin last year, that sub orbital flight founded by jeff bezos. p.h. nargeolet was a 77-year-old former commander of the french navy. he is also a deep sea search expert who has completed at least 35 dives to the wreck of the titanic. he's considered one of the foremost experts on the titanic. he also is the director of
titan submersible himself. aaron, thank you so much for joining us. our condolences to you. we know you knew several people onboard. here you are in this photo in front of the titan along with the ceo of oceangate stockton rush. how are you remembering your friends and colleagues today? >> well, it was a group of explorers and stockton was a visionary. here is a man who -- he had a vision of exploring the bottom of the ocean, and he had a passion and we don't know much about what's going on down there, and we really need to, and he was pushing the limits and making it happen. he had a vision, and he -- you know, few other people could do it, and he did it. so he was a hero of mine and somebody who made these type of things happen, and people like p.h., there was another person who had been in submarines for 60 years. no one had more experience in a sub than p.h., and soft-spoken, humble, just a true gentleman. and people like hamish who they
them or not. there's some condolence there. the other thing is that "titanic" became a very important part of p.h.'s life and i don't think he would consider it an unnecessarily bad place to be buried. >> tom, i do want to ask you to standby for a moment. again, we are awaiting a press briefing from the u.s. coast guard. we understand that they are at the podium now. >> thank you for joining us now. this afternoon, rear admiral john mauger will be providing an update on the most recent findings from rov operations in search of the "titan" submersible. he will provide a brief statement and provide the opportunity for questions after. please limit your questions to one per outlet. following the briefing, the joint information center staff and i will be here to help you with any of your further needs. may i please introduce rear admiral john mauger.
so we all accepted that. we acknowledged reality of it. if a father took his son down, obviously, you know, you're talking about a man that has achieved great things, done what he wanted to do, when he wanted to do it and he believes that he is -- he can transcend the odds. so if it's going to happen, it will happen to someone else. i know that feeling. i also know that when i was down there, the currents at one point, swept us in to an area of the titanic where we got stuck momentarily. p.h. very calmly was able to navigate out. there was that feeling, that sense that this could be it. i may have come -- i had this incredible life and i've had this incredible journey. this may be the final moment. then you break loose and go on and continue and it turned out to be a seminole event. i'll be forever grateful that i was able to enjoy that experience with someone as
the court's mind "rms titanic" should retain the rights. he was an incredible person, very professional all the time, but yet, just a likable person. everybody who knew p.h. loved him. i think, as you have probably seen over the last few days, there were a lot of people who knew p.h. and highly respected him. he's just one of those figures that stood out in the entire industry. >> and again, we are so sorry for your loss. our deepest sympathies. it is notable to me that he passed apparently doing something that he loved. can you talk about the attraction that folks like you, and he have for this wreckage of the "titanic" and what it means to you and to people like him to see it in person? >> well, i think he specialized
and under the russian submarine, it was a saturday morning, i remember secretary cohen directed us to deploy the deep submersibles from norfolk. got to get the deep submersible movement, and then move by air force. >> larry, i know we have you back, and there will be many questions and have been questions raised about folks who do this kind of exploration in spite of the danger. if you want to speak to p.h., but also to the others who have done this and why they do it. and the importance, in your mind of them doing it, what would you say? >> well, you know, p.h. was a mentor to me and a good friend over, you know, almost 25 years. i did my first expedition working right here in st. john's harbor in 1998. and i just want people to know how good of a man he was. you know, but going forward, you
before they went public with any information they have. we don't know what exactly the u.s. coast guard will disclose. absolutely agonizing hours and days for the friends and family of the five on board. again, comforted by the fact that two experts, p.h. nargeolet, the legendary explorer from france, and obviously, the ceo, stockton, who was there on the submersible and built it from scratch and knows how it works. they held on to hope because of the banging noises. the so-called banging. they didn't know what they were. they determined they were inconclusive. they were hanging on to hope as they got each and every piece of information from u.s. officials. right now, they know what exactly has happened as the rest of us wait for an update --
it's like being in a hydraulic press times a billion. there was no pain, no suffering. thank god for that. >> martha: thank god for that is right. the question from p.h. nargeolet who said you're dead before you realize something is wrong, he was a scientist and explorer, he understood the risks. i heard this from the other family members that have spoken out through the last few days as well. these individuals were doing what they loved. certainly those that were closely involved in this, stockton rush, the ceo of oceangate that helped to develop this vehicle and take it down there. i can't imagine what is going through the hearts and minds of this father and son team that were trying to do something really special together and have this experience. as you say, you know, the only comfort at this point is it was quick for all of them. since we mentioned what happened to you, michael, let me stay with you for just a moment here. explain to us your experience of