Titan submersible updates as it happened: Search boss becomes emotional as he recounts moment 'rescue mission turned to recovery'

Here's a quick recap of what was said: 

• Edward Cassano, chief executive of Pelagic Research Services, said his search team was "prepared to rescue Titan" and had planned to "grab" the submersible and lift it to the surface 
• His company was contacted just before 6pm on the day the submersible went missing
• Mr Cassano became emotional as he described the moment the operation went from a "rescue mission to recovery" 
• The wreckage of the sub was discovered "shortly after arriving on the sea floor", Mr Cassano said. 

Read more with our full summary of the press conference.

As we mentioned earlier, Pelagic Research Services found the debris of the Titan submersible on its first descent to the sea floor. 

Edward Cassano, the company's chief executive, says the remotely operated vehicle took an hour and a half to descend.

The Titan sub was found "very shortly" after, he says. 

Edward Cassano says there is still "a lot to learn" in conducting these types of operations. 

He says he is "proud of the performance of our system" but was "very saddened we couldn't recover a viable sub".

The rescue team sent down to the sea floor had planned to "grab" the Titan if it was found intact, Pelagic Research Services boss Edward Cassano says. 

He says the scenario his team hoped for was for the submersible to be sitting on the sea floor with the crew all safe inside. 

The plan was to "grab the Titan" and lift it up to the surface, Mr Cassano says. 

The vessel would have attached extra beacons so other vehicles could track the submersible if it became lost again. 

He said protocols were in place depending on whether the vessel was intact or not.

"It was wild," he says.

Asked by a reporter if he knew what OceanGate was doing, Edward Cassano says he is part of a "very small community" and that he did.

Asked about his thoughts on "what they were doing" - which has been the subject of criticism from some quarters - he claims doesn't "have an opinion on that".

There is a "strong investigation going on right now", he adds. 

But he says that ocean exploration is "very compelling" and his company shares similar desires to explore the deep sea. 

"It was a passion and a joy for exploration," he says of the OceanGate crew.

A ship called Deep Energy had sent two remotely operated vehicles into the ocean in the hopes of finding the Titan before Pelagic Research Services arrived, Edward Cassano says. 

One of the vehicles was "not capable of going deeper" than 2,700m and was sent to the sea floor but suffered a mechanical issue, he says. 

Mr Cassano says the ship "lost a vehicle trying to get to sea floor". 

He adds that the plan of rescue for his company was to "latch onto" the Titan and lift it up as soon as possible.

Edward Cassano is about to take questions from reporters, but before he does so he adds Pelagic Research Services is "still reviewing the sequence of events".

He asks those gathered to "recognise the seriousness of the event" and "respect the range of emotions" of those involved.

Describing the day the wreckage of the submersible was found, Edward Cassano says the search vessel discovered debris "shortly after arriving on the sea floor". 

By 12pm that day, the rescue mission had turned to a recovery one, Mr Cassano says. 

He then appears to become emotional, his voice cracking as he tells reporters: "It's a lot of emotions, people are tired."

Mr Cassano adds that once it was clear it was a recovery mission, the US Coast Guard immediately contacted the families of the Titan crew.

Edward Cassano, chief executive of Pelagic Research Services, is now giving a timeline of events. 

He says the loss of communications to the Titan happened on 18 June, and at 17.45pm local time he was contacted by OceanGate to help with the search. 

His company was asked to use its deep-water remotely operated vehicle system, Odysseus 6K, he says. 

It "immediately began assembling a team", he says. 

The following day, he says PRS had begun packing and mobilising Odysseus.

Edward Cassano, chief executive of Pelagic Services, says his team has tried to "keep grounded in the solemnity of this event".

He says the team was "always conscious" of the crew of Titan and its family and friends. 

When the remote operated vehicle dived down to the Titanic wreckage, it was "prepared to rescue Titan", he says.