Rescue team leader after finding Titan sub wreckage: 'There's a lot of emotions'

The leader of the operation to recover the wreckage of the imploded Titan submersible described the mission as an emotional one, noting he originally set out expecting a rescue mission.

"We were always conscious of the crew of the Titan," Ed Cassano, CEO of Pelagic Research Services, said at a press conference Saturday.

"Plain and simple, we were focused on rescue," he added.

OceanGate's Titan sub is believed to have imploded while on its descent to the wreckage site of the Titanic on June 18, killing all five on board instantly. On Wednesday, The Coast Guard announced that it discovered human remains at the site of the submarine wreckage.

Cassano fought back tears, saying that the recovery team was going through "a lot of emotions.”

An international search-and-rescue mission began when the submarine went missing just hours into its tourist trip to one of the deepest parts of the North Atlantic. The Coast Guard and private research vessels searched for the submarine for three days until a Pelagic unmanned vehicle discovered the wreckage.

"Shortly after arriving on the seafloor, we discovered the debris of the Titan submersible...by 12 o'clock, a rescue turned into a recovery," Cassano said.

Among the five killed was OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush. The company's legitimacy has been called into question as reports have revealed Rush and others may have cut corners in constructing the craft. He also often scrutinized government safety regulations in the past.