WASHINGTON   -   OceanGate said Thurs­day that it believes the passengers of the Ti­tanic-bound submers­ible have “sadly been lost,” according to a statement from the company.

“We now believe that our CEO Stock­ton Rush, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet, have sadly been lost,” the company said in a statement.

“These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spir­it of adventure, and a deep pas­sion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans,” according to the statement. “Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time. We grieve the loss of life and joy they brought to everyone they knew.” The company added:

“This is an extremely sad time for our dedicated employees who are exhausted and grieving deep­ly over this loss. The entire Ocean­Gate family is deeply grateful for the countless men and women from multiple organizations of the inter­national community who expedited wide-ranging resources and have worked so very hard on this mis­sion. We appreciate their commit­ment to finding these five explorers, and their days and nights of tireless work in support of our crew and their families.