The family of a Titanic explorer who was among those killed in last year’s submersible implosion has now slapped a $50 million wrongful death lawsuit against the doomed sub’s operator.
Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77, was one of five people onboard the Titan submersible when it suddenly imploded en route to the famed wreck site at the bottom of the North Atlantic in June 2023.
His family filed the wrongful death suit in Washington state on Tuesday against the submersible’s owner, OceanGate, alleging gross negligence.
Attorneys for his estate argue the “doomed submersible” had a “troubled history” and that OceanGate failed to disclose key facts about the vessel and its durability.
“The lawsuit further alleges that even though Nargeolet had been designated by OceanGate to be a member of the crew of the vessel, many of the particulars about the vessel’s flaws and shortcomings were not disclosed and were purposely concealed,” the lawyers said in a statement.
Nargeolet — affectionately dubbed “Mr Titanic” — had taken more than three dozen trips to the Titanic wreck before boarding the ill-fated OceanGate submersible.
The former French Navy commander was part of the first human expedition to visit the wreck site back in 1987.
A spokesperson for OceanGate declined to comment on the suit.
