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Paul Henry Nargeolet, age 77, of New York City, lived in Litchfield County, in the town of Kent, for nearly a decade, as he took 37 trips to the doomed wreckage on salvage operations, including a couple in the Oceangate Titan.
During an interview with WCBS Channel 2 in New York, John Paschall said besides himself, Nargeolet leaves behind a wife and three children.
"He's the type of person that everyone kind of wanted to be around to, you know, listen to stories, but also, you know, just make jokes. I think what people maybe don't know is he's a big prankster," Paschall told WCBS.
The US Coast Guard made the announcement that the missing submersible had been found around 3 p.m., Thursday, June 22 during a press conference.
The Coast Guard said a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) discovered a debris field, approximately 1,600 feet off the bow of the Titanic.
The ROV deployed to the Canadian vessel Horizon Arctic, discovered the tail section of the 21-foot submersible, Titan, that went missing on Sunday, June 18, the Coast Guard added.
“This was a catastrophic implosion of the vessel,” said Rear Adm. John Mauger, of the First Coast Guard District.
The Coast Guard said experts from within the unified command are evaluating the imagery and debris while continuing ROV’s search efforts near the Titanic to locate additional portions of the Titan.
In Kent, where Nargeolet still served on the library board, residents took to Facebook to offer their condolences. Jennifer Koning said: " Very sad. They died doing what they loved doing... extreme exploration."
Another, Donna Liberati Hayes added: "So very sad. May they all rest in peace."
According to National Public Radio and his biography, Nargeolet, who was born in France, led the first recovery dive to the Titanic in 1987 and over time supervised the retrieval of 5,000 artifacts.
Meanwhile, his stepson who said the ocean was his dad's home away from home, added that he is "heartbroken," and in a "state of shock."
Other members aboard the doomed vessel were:
- Stockton Rush, a British businessman who founded OceanGate in 2009 and was at the helm of the Titan during the trip.
- Shahzada Dawood, age 48, was the vice chairman of Dawood Hercules, an investment company based in Karachi, Pakistan,
- Dawood's 19-year-old son Suleman Dawood.
- British billionaire, Hamish Harding, chairman of Action Aviation.
This continues to be a developing story. Check back to Daily Voice for updates.
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