Photos Capture OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush Test Diving 'Titan' Sub 5 Years Before Deadly Implosion

The vessel carrying five men went missing Sunday less than two hours into its voyage to see the 'Titanic' wreckage

A series of photos show OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush testing the submersible that killed him and four other crew members.

On Thursday, pieces of debris from the Titan were found 1,600 feet from the bow of the Titanic, the destination of the excursion. The pieces of the vessel were consistent with the “catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber." All five people on board would have been killed in the implosion.

In a series of images taken by Becky Kagan Schott in the Bahamas in May 2018, Rush was captured in the vessel where he spent his final moments. One photo showed the adventurer peering out of the submersible’s porthole beneath the ocean's surface.

Another image depicted Rush sitting inside the vessel, surrounded by equipment and wearing a shirt promoting his Titanic exploration business.

Related: 5 'Titan' Sub Passengers Are Dead, OceanGate Says: They 'Have Sadly Been Lost'

On Sunday, the submersible began its voyage to the wreckage site of the sunken Titanic ship. Less than two hours into the excursion, they lost contact with the control ship guiding them, prompting a rescue mission.

Following four days of recovery efforts — including international efforts to find the vessel — Coast Guard officials said a remotely-operated vehicle (ROV) from the Canadian vessel Horizon Arctic found pieces of the missing sub and all five victims were presumed dead on Thursday afternoon.

Passengers likely did not have time to react to an implosion, according to journalist Josh Dean, who has written extensively about deep sea exploration — including OceanGate Expeditions and Rush — and is the husband of PEOPLE contributor Gillian Telling.

“It’s a deeply tragic, terrible thing,” Dean told PEOPLE. “I’ve often heard it described as happening faster than the brain can process what’s happening.”

Related: 'Titanic' Sub Passengers Died Due to 'Catastrophic' Pressure Implosion: Full Recap

An implosion would have likely been caused by the failure of the Titan’s pressure housing, Stefan B. Williams, a professor of marine robotics at the University of Sydney in Australia, said in a blog post shared on The Conversation during the search efforts.

The location of the Titan’s wreckage was “consistent with the location of last communication for an implosion” in the water, Paul Hankins, the U.S. Navy's director of salvage operations and ocean engineering, said at Thursday’s press conference.

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In response to safety concerns raised by director James Cameron and other experts about Titan submersible, Guillermo Söhnlein, who co-founded OceanGate in 2009, said the vessel went through a “rigorous test program.”

"I think one of the issues that keeps coming up is everyone keeps equating certification with safety and are ignoring the 14 years of development of the Titan sub," Söhnlein told BBC Radio 4's Today show on Friday. "It was very robust and certainly led through successful science expeditions to the Titanic even over the last three years.”

"Five different major pieces of debris" were found that told experts that the sub experienced a catastrophic event, Hankins said Thursday. The nose cone was found first, followed by “a large debris field” where crews found the front end bell of the pressure hull.

“That was the first indication that there was a catastrophic event,” Hankins explained. Crews also found a second, smaller debris field in which they found the other end of the pressure hull, he added.

Dean told PEOPLE that the passengers’ “only chance” of survival was if the Titan had dumped its ballast and risen back to the surface.

“I think rescue was never honestly an option,” he added.

Related: Will OceanGate Face Criminal Charges After 'Titan' Sub's 'Catastrophic' Implosion? Legal Expert Weighs In

In a statement released after the tragic news was shared, the Explorers Club mourned the loss of the five men.

"Our hearts are broken. I am so sorry to have to share this tragic news. Our friends and fellow Explorers Club members Hamish Harding and Paul-Henri Nargeolet are lost, along with Stockton Rush, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, while trying to reach the RMS Titanic," read a statement from President Richard Garriott de Cayeux.

"Hamish Harding is a dear friend to me personally and to The Explorers Club. He holds several world records and has continued to push dragons off maps both in person and through supporting expeditions and worthy causes. Paul-Henri was elected to the Club in 2001 and was one of the foremost experts on submersible expeditions to the Titanic. They were both drawn to explore, like so many of us, and did so in the name of meaningful science for the betterment of mankind," the president added.

Related: Get an Inside Look at OceanGate's 'Titan' Submersible: Photos and Details

"While we did not know Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman personally, their desire to explore as a family would have led them to our doorstep at some point in their futures, where we would have welcomed them," the statement continued. "We’re heartbroken for the families, friends and colleagues of those who were lost. Their memories will be a blessing and will continue to inspire us in the name of science and exploration."

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