Viral image does not show the debris of the Titan Submersible

The viral image of boots on seabed shows Titanic wreckage, not Titan submersible debris

The Titan submersible, a deep-sea submersible carrying five people on a voyage to the century-old wreck of the Titanic was found in pieces from a “catastrophic implosion” that killed everyone aboard.

The U.S. Coast Guard announced it on Thursday. The Titan, operated by the U.S.-based company Ocean Gate Expeditions, had been missing since it lost contact with its surface support ship on Sunday morning (June 18)about an hour, 45 minutes into what should have been a two-hour dive to the world’s most famous shipwreck.

In this backdrop an image showing boots partly buried in a sandy seabed was shared widely on social media claiming that it shows the debris of the Titan Submersible. The image shows the bottom part of two boots protruding from the sea floor, partly buried alongside other debris.

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The same post is widely shared on twitter also.

Fact Check-

A reverse image search of the viral image led us to this The Independent article, dated 30 October 2020, titled “Plan to retrieve radio on Titanic raises question whether it still contains human remains”. The viral picture is featured in the news report, captioned Titanic artefacts, confirming that the viral image is not of the submersible’s debris.

We discovered the same information with the viral image on the Phys.org website as well.

In further search we found the photograph was provided by the University of Rhode Island’s Institute for Exploration and Center for Archaeological Oceanography and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Ocean Exploration through Associated Press website in 2004.

To get further information regarding the viral image, our Srilankan Team contacted US coast guard department via email and they confirmed that “the Unified Command has not released any photos or videos of the debris. Unless released from our official Press Releases or our social media, these photos are unconfirmed.”

Conclusion-

Fact Crescendo found the claim made along with the viral image is false. The viral image of boots on seabed shows Titanic wreckage, not Titan submersible debris.