“It was extraordinary to see it all.”
“Shocking” footage has shown the deterioration of the Titanic as entire parts of the ship are lost to the sea.
Explorers making the first manned dive to the wreck in 14 years have discovered that sections of the ship have started to collapse beneath the water.
The decay was worst on the starboard side of the offices’ quarters, where much of the wreck had been worn away.
Sky News reports that an international team of deep-sea explorers undertook five dives to survey the ship, which has been at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean for over 100 years.
Titanic historian Parks Stephenson said that what he discovered during the dive was “shocking.”
“The captain’s bathtub is a favourite image among Titanic enthusiasts – and that’s now gone,” he said.
“That whole deck house on that side is collapsing, taking with it the state rooms. And that deterioration is going to continue advancing.
“Titanic is returning to nature.”
Titanic sank in April 1912 after hitting an ice berg on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York. Over 1,500 lives were lost in the incident.
Explorers have said that metal-eating bacteria, salt erosion, and strong ocean currents are causing the deterioration of the ship.
It is likely that a section of the ship’s bow will be next to collapse, making it more difficult to dive inside of the wreckage in future.
Diver Victor Vescovo said that he “wasn’t quite prepared” for how the shipwreck would look once he saw it.
“It was amazing,” he said.
“It was extraordinary to see it all, and the most amazing moment came when I was going along the side of the Titanic and the bright lights of the submersible reflected off a portal and came right back.
“It was like the ship was winking at me.
You can check out the footage here:
The first new images of the wreck of the Titanic in 14 years show that the iconic ship is deteriorating
Get the latest news here: https://t.co/R8Y77kLxnp pic.twitter.com/fhKfDiIKAi
— Sky News (@SkyNews) August 21, 2019
