DUTCHESS COUNTY, NEW YORK: A French explorer and Titanic expert was one of the five men who reportedly lost their lives while on board the doomed Titan. The tourist craft was on a voyage to the ruins of the Titanic when it vanished on June 18. On Thursday, June 22, it was reported that the submersible perished because of a “catastrophic implosion,” killing all five men inside.

Now, Paul Henri Nargeolet’s family has shared a statement remembering him. It said, “Our hearts are broken over the loss of our extraordinary father and husband. He is a man who will be remembered as one of the greatest deep-sea explorers in modern history.”

‘We will remember him most for his big heart’

“When you think of the Titanic and all we know about the ship today, you will think of Paul-Henri Nargeolet and his legendary work. But what we will remember him most for is his big heart, his incredible sense of humor, and how much he loved his family. We will miss him today and every day for the rest of our lives,” the statement noted.

The 77-year-old was a family man, who is survived by a wife, three children, and a stepson named Paschall, who also paid him tribute. He said, “We focus so much on everything he did in the water, but I feel like some of his greatest accomplishments, too, were out of the water. I understand that in life it is sometimes not easy to be a stepfather, [especially] when you are coming into a situation where my father was still in the picture. I had a great relationship with him, but he was always so respectful of my relationship with him and he was such an important part of my life.”

Sharing about his first meeting with Paul-Henri, he recalled, “We first met in my freshman year of high school. I remember the first thing he did for me that was so meaningful was he helped me with a science project on the building of a cell and creating a model of it, and I ended up getting an 'A' on it.”

‘The Titanic meant so much to him’

Paschall then went on to express his contentment that his stepfather, also called “Mr Titanic,” left this world near the Titanic, which "meant so much to him." He stated, “I think in my own opinion his home away from home was the ocean. He just felt so comfortable there. I know so much of the focus of this discussion is about risk, and I felt he just accepted the risk and knew what it was, but he loved what he did.”

“The Titanic meant so much to him, every artifact he brought up, whether it was small or it was large, meant so much to him. Being in the Titanic, in that area, in his final moments - while it's so raw and fresh that we're dealing with it - I think it means a lot that he spent his final moments near a scene in the world that meant so much to him,” Paschall added.