UK marketer cancelled Titan sub trip owing to 'risks'

All five passengers on board the submarine died after a 'catastrophic implosion'.

Chris Brown, a UK businessman, feels grateful for having cancelled what turned out to be an ill-fated trip to the Titanic wreck at the last minute.

Several media outlets reported that Mr Brown, a businessman in digital marketing, had agreed to the £80,000 deep dive with British millionaire Hamish Harding "over a few beers" while visiting Sir Richard Branson's Necker island.

Following what the US Coast Guard described as a "catastrophic implosion" in the depths of the water, all five persons onboard the submersible missing near the Titanic's wreck, died in an instant.

Also Read: Insufficient safety tests, lax precautions, possible cause for Titan's 'catastrophic implosion'

British millionaire Hamish Harding, Pakistani mogul Shahzada Dawood, and his son were among the five individuals on board the ship.

Recalling his decision, Mr Brown explained as to why he had agreed to go for the trip in the first place.

According to a story in The Independent, he had said, "Being a modern-day adventurer interested in pushing the boundaries of our knowledge of places that people go to... the Titanic is obviously an iconic wreck."

"It's an opportunity for an expedition, an exploration, and adding some science to the situation," Brown had added.

The businessman had agreed to go on the vacation and had promptly paid the deposit as well. However, his enthusiasm was tempered by worries when he observed that Oceangate, the organisation organising the trip, "cut too many corners", reported the Sun.

As stated in the report, Brown was stunnd to find "old scaffolding poles" being used for the submersible's ballast. He also siad that its controls were based on computer game-style controllers.

"Eventually I emailed them and said, 'I'm no longer able to go on this thing. I asked for a refund after being less than convinced ," Mr Brown told the Sun.

Even though Brown doesn't mind taking chances, "the risks were too high in this instance," he claimed.