Sandwich chain Subway has been criticised after staff joked about the Titan submersible tragedy on a roadside sign.
Passers-by expressed disgust after spotting the billboard, outside a branch in the US state of Georgia, which said: “Our subs don’t implode”.
Critics included Amanda Butler, who tweeted: “Not only is it distasteful, it’s just sad. Do better.”
Another wrote: “How tacky, people have no thought of the family members of those who died, disgusting.”
Five men, including three British citizens, died when the Titan submersible suffered a “catastrophic” implosion while attempting to view the wreck of the Titanic, officials believe.
The vessel went missing in the Atlantic Ocean on 18 June, prompting a frantic large-scale search operation, before debris from the craft was found and brought ashore.
“Presumed human remains” found inside the wreckage are currently being analysed as part of an investigation into what happened, the US Coast Guard said.
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Read more:
What happened to the Titan
Five men onboard described as ‘true explorers’ – here are their stories
Details of Titan sub victims’ final moments emerge
A manager at the branch, in the city of Rincon, refused to comment to local news outlet WTOC 11, but confirmed the lettering on the sign had been taken down following complaints.
Subway‘s head office blamed a franchise operator and promised it would not happen again.
A spokesperson told US media: “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.”
