James Cameron is reeling from the Titanic submersible tragedy.
The director, who has made 33 dives to the ship's wreckage since making his 1997 movie Titanic, broke his silence about the OceanGate vessel containing five passengers that officials believe imploded underwater during a recent dive. And he couldn't help but note an uncanny parallel.
"I'm struck by the similarity of the Titanic disaster itself," Cameron told ABC News on June 22, "where the captain was repeatedly warned about ice ahead of his ship and yet he steamed at full speed into an ice field on a moonless night—and many people died as a result."
Noting the deep-sea exploration community had concerns about the watercraft prior to the catastrophe, the Avatar director continued, "For a very similar tragedy, where warnings went unheeded, to take place at the same exact site with all the diving that's going on all around the world, I think it's just astonishing. It's really quite surreal."
The 68-year-old is especially shaken by the presumed death of Paul-Henri Nargeolet, a French explorer on the research vessel who Cameron had known for 25 years.
"It's a very small community," the filmmaker said. "For him to have died tragically in this way is almost impossible for me to process."
The sub—named Titan—went missing on June 18 during a dive to the wreckage of the RMS Titanic, which infamously sank in 1912. In addition to Nargeolet, passengers on the craft included OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, British billionaire Hamish Harding, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman Dawood.
The U.S. Coast Guard launched a massive search-and-rescue mission for the sub shortly after its disappearance. However, officials confirmed on June 22 that rescuers found debris from an external part of the submersible "consistent with the catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber."
"This is an incredibly unforgiving environment down there on the sea floor," First Coast Guard District commander Rear Adm. John Mauger said during a press conference. "The debris is consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vessel."
In a statement released earlier in the day, OceanGate said they believe all five passengers "have sadly been lost."
"These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world's oceans," the statement read. "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."
E! News has reached out to OceanGate for comment on Cameron's remarks but hasn't heard back.
For more details on the Titan passengers, keep reading.