Police in Canada are to investigate the circumstances surrounding the deaths of five people aboard the Titan submersible.

British billionaire Hamish Harding, UK-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, his 19-year-old son Suleman Dawood, the vessel’s American pilot Stockton Rush and French national Paul-Henri Nargeolet were killed instantly when the vessel imploded.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) will now look into the incident and see if further action is required.

In a press conference in St. John’s, Newfoundland today, Superintendent Kent Osmond stressed that investigations were at an early stage.

He said: ‘Today, the RCMP initiated an examination of the circumstances that led to the deaths of the five individuals on board the submersible.

‘A team of investigators has been established with the sole purpose of answering the question of whether or not a full investigation by the RCMP is warranted.

‘Such an investigation will proceed only if our examination of the circumstances indicate criminal, federal or provincial laws may possibly have been broken.’

When asked whether there is any suspicion of criminal activity at the moment, he responded: ‘There is no suspicion of criminal activity per se, but the RCMP is taking initial steps to assess whether or not we will go down that road.’

The family members of each blast victim are aboard the ship that lost contact with it, it was also announced at the press conference.

Kathy Fox, chair of the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB), told reporters: ‘Anybody can imagine that it’s difficult, the circumstances they have been under for the last few days and we have to understand that’s going to affect… particularly the families who have lost loved ones.’

The safety investigation into the Titan submersible incident could take up to two years, she added.

Ms Fox continued: ‘Typically our investigations take 18 months to two years.

‘We obviously try to do them quicker, because we know that everybody wants answers – particularly the family, the public etc.

‘We need to take the time with respect to how far we will go, that remains to be seen as we gather information. So it’s still too early to tell.’

Given its role so far, the US Coast Guard is likely to remain an important player alongside Canadian Police as the investigation continues.

Some of the Coast Guard’s vessels and technicians had begun to return to St John’s on Friday, indicating that the search was beginning to wind down.

Pelagic Research Services – whose remote operating vehicle (ROV) discovered the debris fields – told CNN it plans to remain onsite conducting ROV missions for another week.

Search teams will want to clear up as much of the debris as possible, including bits of the carbon fibre that formed part of the structure, so authorities can build a better picture of what happened.

Undersea expert Paul Hankin said five major pieces of debris found had helped to identify the fate of the Titan.

The middle section was made from carbon fibre and investigators are likely to focus on whether a structural failure there caused the tragedy.

Investigators will be gathering every piece of the debris they can find, Ryan Ramsey, former submarine captain in Britain’s Royal Navy told the BBC.

He said: ‘There is no black box, so you are not going to be able to track the last movements of the vessel itself.

‘But otherwise the process of investigation is not dissimilar to that of a plane crash.’

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