A Subway restaurant in Rincon, Georgia has been forced to remove a sign referencing the fatal Titanic submersible implosion after various complaints about the "distasteful" joke.
As initially reported by WTOC 11, a sign outside the fast food restaurant read, "Our subs don't implode." The sign is a not-so-subtle reference to the fatal OceanGate Expeditions voyage to the shipwreck of the Titanic, which imploded during its journey and killed all five onboard. Multiple people on Twitter pointed out the sign at the sandwich chain's Georgia location and described it as "distasteful" and "horrible."
Subway has confirmed the sign was legitimate, but it has since been removed. "We have been in contact with the franchise about this matter and made it clear that this kind of comment has no place in our business," the company confirmed in a statement shared with various media outlets. "The sign has since been removed."
The backlash to the sign comes as Subway is making major moves to revamp itself following the closure of over 571 locations in 2022. Per Fox Business, the chain is hoping the introduction of deli slicers and freshly sliced meats will bring in more customers. As recently as May, Subway was exploring a potential $10 billion sale due to the closure of approximately 2.7 percent of its sandwich restaurant locations worldwide, Reuters reported.
Last week, debris from the Titan submersible was photographed at a port in the St. John's area of Newfoundland. The retrieval wreckage brings an end to the OceanGate submersible recovery efforts just under a week after the company confirmed all five lives onboard had "sadly been lost." Pelagic Research Services—an ocean services company that worked on recovery efforts in the investigation—said its team had “successfully completed off-shore operations.”
On Wednesday, June 28, the U.S. Coast Guard revealed that "presumed human remains" were found in the area where the Titan submersible debris was discovered. The alleged remains "within the wreckage" have been sent to medical professionals for inspection. The cause of the "catastrophic implosion" that killed the five individuals has yet to be determined.
