James Cameron says he 'knew the submersible was destroyed' four days before debris found

James Cameron says he 'knew the submersible was destroyed' four days before debris was found. Cameron became a deep-sea traveller in the 1990s while researching and making the blockbuster Titanic, and is part owner of Triton Submarines, which makes submersibles for research and tourism.

Titanic, the 1997 film starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio, won 11 Academy Awards and earned more than $2.25bn (£1.94bn) worldwide.

Titanic director James Cameron says he knew the Titan submersible had been demolished less than 24 hours after the vessel lost contact. 

 On Thursday, filmmaker Cameron said he learned of the acoustic findings within a day and knew what it meant.

"I sent emails to everybody I know and said we've lost some friends. The sub had imploded. It's on the bottom in pieces right now. I sent that out Monday morning,".

James said he wished he sounded the alarm on OceanGate's technology earlier.

The director, who has dived into the Titanic wreck 33 times, said he is part of the small and close-knit submersible community.

When he heard that OceanGate was making a deep-sea submersible with a composite carbon fibre and titanium hull, Cameron said he was sceptical.

"I thought it was a horrible idea. I wish I'd spoken up, but I assumed somebody was smarter than me, you know because I never experimented with that technology,".

The five people who were killed mark the first deep-sea fatalities for the industry, Cameron said - as he branded the rescue mission a "prolonged and nightmarish charade".

The industry standard is to make pressure hulls out of contiguous materials such as steel, titanium, ceramic, or acrylic, which are better for conducting tests.

"We celebrate innovation, right? But you shouldn't be using an experimental vehicle for paying passengers that aren't themselves deep ocean engineers," Cameron said.

Cameron also noted the resemblances between the Titan and the Titanic, saying both tragedies were preceded by unheeded warnings.

"Here we are again," he said. "And at the same place. Now there's one wreck lying next to the other wreck for the same damn reason."

Talk with BBC News, Cameron described how he "felt in my bones what had happened".

"For the sub's electronics to fail and its communication system to fail, and its tracking transponder to fail simultaneously - sub's gone.

"I knew that sub was sitting exactly underneath its last known depth and position. That's exactly where they found it."

He added: "[It] felt like a prolonged and nightmarish charade where people are running around talking about banging noises and talking about oxygen and all this other stuff.

"I immediately got on the phone with some of my contacts in the deep submersible community.

"Within about an hour, I had the following facts. They were on the descent. They were at 3,500m, heading for the bottom at 3,800m.

"We now have another wreck that is based on unfortunately the same principles of not heeding warnings."