Today the news confirmed that the OceanGate tourist expedition to the sunken remains of the Titanic had a catastrophic event, an implosion, that took the lives of the five occupants of the submersible. The headline of this blog post is a comment by G. Michael Harris about those five: “Out of the body and into the presence of the Lord.” I’m sure that was not what any of them envisioned.
Another commentator said that an implosion happens so quickly you are dead before you realize anything is wrong.
This sad occurrence struck me particularly because I have a book in the publishing process about creatures at the bottom of the ocean. Another will follow it about volcanoes at the bottom of the ocean. I have spent a bit of time learning about the vehicles that search the depths with and without occupants. Through my writing I was aware of the danger of sending humans to depths that were hostile to them because our species was not designed to be there. Every day since communication between the OceanGate vessel and those on the surface was lost, I thought about the knowledge I had gained in my research. Although OceanGate was not for scientific research, many scientists have taken those deep and dangerous voyages just so we can better understand the wonders of our earth.
I ask you to pray now for those who are brave enough to continue to dive to the bottom of the ocean, as well as for the families of those who have just perished:
- Stockton Rush – OceanGate CEO
- Hamish Harding – British businessman and adventurer
- Shahzada Dawood – A member of one of Pakistan’s wealthiest families
- Suleman Dawood – The teenage son of Shahzada Dawood
- Paul-Henry Nargeolet – Former French navy officer and leading Titanic expert