The US Coast Guard said on Thursday (22) that the submarine, missing since Sunday (18) with five crew members, had imploded and all on board are believed to be dead.

“I am struck by the resemblance to the Titanic disaster itself, in which the captain was repeatedly warned of ice ahead of his ship, but continued at full speed through an ice field,” the director said. in an interview with the American channel ABC News.

“As a submersible developer, I designed and built a submersible myself, to go deep in the ocean, three times deeper than the Titanic, so I understand the engineering issues associated with building of this type of vehicle,” he said. .

In 2014, he set off with a submersible and recorded his visit to the Mariana Trench, believed to be the deepest place in the ocean, nearly 11,000 meters below the surface.

Already from his expeditions on the Titanic he produced the documentary “Ghosts of the Abyss” (2003). In it, the director invited his friend Bill Paxton, who is part of the cast of “Titanic”, to visit and tell about the voyages to the wreck, which obtained the most detailed images of the sunken ship ever recorded.

“A lot of people in the community were concerned about this submarine and even wrote letters to the company saying what they were doing was very experimental and needed certification.”

During the interview, Cameron said he was close with one of the Titan passengers. “Paul-Henry Nargeolet, the legendary French driver, is a friend of mine,” said the filmmaker. “It’s a very small community. I’ve known him for 25 years. That he died in this tragic way is almost impossible to process.”