Iconic element Titanic According to the research team that conducted the first expedition to the wreck site in 14 years, the wreck broke away from the ship and fell to the bottom of the ocean.

In July, researchers from RMS Titanic Inc., the company that owns the legal rights to the shipwreck, visited Titanicwhich sank in 1912 after striking an iceberg while sailing from Britain to New York on its maiden voyage, killing some 1,500 people. It was the company’s first voyage to the ship’s final resting place since 2010.

The expedition took place a year after titanium The submarine operated by OceanGate Expeditions imploded during a visit to Titanic wreck. During the last expedition, scientists noticed a significant change in Titanicsilhouette: part of the ship’s bow, immortalized in a cult scene in the 1997 film Titanicbroke away and sank.

“The bow of the Titanic is an icon. It’s a haunting image rising from the seabed as a testament to her strength and defiance,” the expedition’s website says. “We watched the rusty shoots grow and the marine life cling to it. In James Cameron’s 1997 film, Jack had his memorable ‘King of the World’ moment and taught Rose how to fly. It’s the image that comes to mind when most people think of the Titanic.”

Newsweek We have contacted RMS Titanic by email for comment.

The arch has greeted expedition teams for decades as they ventured beneath the ocean’s surface to examine the ship. But a recent expedition found a 15-foot piece had broken off.

“After 13 days of focusing on the debris field, the Expedition team was excited to see Bow for the first time on July 29,” the RMS Titanic website reported. “However, the moment of excitement and anticipation was immediately shattered by a significant change in the familiar silhouette. The once miraculously intact railing surrounding Bow’s foredeck was missing a 15-foot section on the port side.”

As reported by RMS Titanic, photographs taken several days earlier confirmed that the railing was on the seabed beneath the ship.

“We are saddened by this loss and the inevitable disintegration of the ship and debris. Over the next few weeks and months, we will conduct a more thorough review of the condition of the Titanic and its changes over time,” the website says. “While the collapse of the Titanic is inevitable, this evidence strengthens our mission to preserve and document what we can.”

But the expedition also revealed some positive discoveries. Scientists took pictures of the 2-foot-tall Diana of Versailles, a depiction of the Roman goddess Diana, last photographed in 1986 and thought to have been lost at sea. The statue was the centerpiece of the first-class lounge and now rests in a field of shipwreck debris on the ocean floor.

During the expedition, scientists took over 2 million photos.