The last moments of the missing Titanic crew before they boarded the ill-fated submarine have been revealed by a barista who served them coffee.
Members of the crew stopped off at the local Terre Cafe in St John’s, Newfoundland, before their adventure after waiting days for the weather to change.
All five of those on board the vessel have now been confirmed as dead with the US Coastguard announcing the debris discovered close to the Titanic was from the missing submarine.
Rear Admiral John Mauger, First Coast Guard District commander told reporters at a press conference they had found debris of the missing Titan.
The families of the crew have been informed of the findings. The debris field was found 1,600 feet from the bow of the sunken Titanic, a spokesperson for the USCG said.
The crew were said to be "excited" to go on the dive, having waited days for the weather to improve and allow them to venture out on the doomed submersible.
"Before leaving on their last expedition, a bunch of the crew came in here and ordered a bunch of coffees before going out," barista James Law, 27, said.
"It was about nine or 10 of them. I could tell who they were because they're all literally wearing jackets that say Titanic on them. Everyone was wearing that blue OceanGate Titanic jacket.
"Whenever we see guys wearing those expedition jackets, we just say, 'what are you guys up to?'" Mr Law pointed out, speaking to the Daily Mail on Wednesday..
"The group came down, and they're like, 'we're heading out,'" he said.
"They were saying they were excited for a good expedition. And a few of them seemed in a rush. They were a little behind schedule. That was the first day there was a break in the fog for a while. They were in a rush to go. They were excited to go," he added.
The crew boarded the Polar Prince not far from the cafe.
Mr Law later realised something had gone wrong when he saw the pictures of the crew in the news.
He told how he is not optimistic the Titan crew will be rescued in time.
The “debris field” was discovered within the search area in the hunt for missing Titanic submersible Titan, the US Coast Guard said.
The debris was found by a remotely-operated vehicle on the seafloor near the Titanic and the findings are being 'evaluated' by experts.
The discovery comes hours after the estimated oxygen supplies would have run out.
It is unclear whether officials believe the debris is connected to the Titan vessel.
A spokesperson for the USCG wrote: "A debris field was discovered within the search area by an ROV near the Titanic. Experts within the unified command are evaluating the information."
A conference has been arranged for 3pm EST (8pm UK time) to “discuss the findings”.
Founding member of the Board of Trustees of The Explorers Club, Hamish Harding, was on board the undersea craft, alongside UK-based businessman Shahzada Dawood, his son Suleman Dawood, and OceanGate’s chief executive and founder Stockton Rush, as well as French submersible pilot Paul-Henri Nargeolet.
David Mearns, a rescue expert who knows two of the men on the vessel, told Sky News: "They don't use phrases like 'debris field' unless there's no chance of a recovery of the men alive.
"A debris field implies a break-up of the submersible ... that really sort of indicates what is the worst-case scenario, which is a catastrophic failure and generally that's an implosion.
"The only saving grace is that it would have been immediate - literally in milliseconds - and the men wouldn't have known what was happening."
An expert has said he was told the debris located in the search for the missing OceanGate submersible was from the vehicle itself.
David Mearns also said he received a WhatsApp where someone close to the search told him "if you are talking about debris, it was a landing frame and rear cover from the submersible".
A massive search was launched after the sub, which was going down to visit the Titanic wreck, failed to check in an hour and 45 minutes into the trip.
The US Coast Guard said it was deploying two remotely operated vehicles.
The French government-backed vessel is about to deploy its own ROV, Victor 6000, into the ocean, the Coast Guard said.
