As the world learns about the fate of five Titan submersible crew, descendants of those who perished in the sinking of the RMS Titanic decry a tourist trip to the doomed ship’s demise as disrespectful. are doing.

“A lot of people died there. [in 1912]And I don’t think it should be treated as a tourist attraction,” said T. Sean Maher, whose great-grandfather James Kelly died in the shipwreck. Said Daily Beast. Maher said he had no problem with expeditions such as the 1985 expedition led by Robert Ballard that discovered the wreckage of the Titanic, but that people visiting the site as a tourist attraction were “uncomfortable.” ” says.

“The Ballard Expedition found where the Titanic was and now we know it. It’s real. It’s there. All the people died there. That’s how it should be. Leave it alone.” We should let the people there rest in peace,” Maher insisted.

Families with relatives who died or survived the 1912 Titanic disaster claim that the wreckage site is not a tourist attraction, but a “cemetery” that should be treated with respect.https://t.co/qQvdSk4Xqt

— Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) June 21, 2023

His two uncles were waiters on the Titanic, and 69-year-old John Locasio, who sank with the ship, shared his sentiments. “I think it sucks, to be honest,” Locasio said of paid tours to shipwrecks. “That doesn’t make sense. You’re going to look at the grave. Why don’t you dig out your uncle and aunt and look at the box? That’s basically what I’m comparing. There’s a reason for that.” is not.”

Brett Gladstone, the great-great-grandson of Titanic’s most famous victims Ida Strauss and Isidore Strauss, says he’s “not crazy” about the idea of ​​paid excursions to see the wreckage. He argued that if implemented, it should be regulated and respected. . (Related: ‘Most important and well-documented’ piece of Titanic memorabilia sells for $243,000)

“My great-great-grandfather’s body was found floating around his neck with a locket that the family still has, but my great-great-grandmother’s body was never found,” Gladstone told the magazine. rice field. “So her body lies there today. It’s a little bit offensive for people who are spending the money they understand, because this place is a graveyard and should be treated as such.”

Even the descendants of those who survived the 1912 disaster left the trip in a bad taste. Sherry Binder, whose great-grandmother Leah survived the sinking at age 18, said the tragedy haunted her for the rest of her life. “My 92-year-old father remembers my mother sitting him down in 1960 saying he couldn’t escape the sound of people dying in the water. It was torture for her,” she told the Daily Beast.

Mark Peterti’s grandmother, who survived the sinking at the age of 24, said she “didn’t want to be on the ship again” after escaping in the last lifeboat and leaving the ship. “She had PTSD all the time and in the middle of the night she woke up and she kept screaming thinking about the dead people around her,” said Peterti, according to the newspaper. .

During the trip, Petterti said he couldn’t believe people would pay $250,000 to see the cemetery. “It’s like Disneyland that people go to,” he said, adding that while he could understand some of the curiosity, he didn’t think it was worth the risk.