The aircraft searching for the missing submarine had detected “banging” noises every 30 minutes in the vicinity of the last known location of the divers.
New Delhi: A Canadian aircraft has reportedly detected a “banging sound” during the search operations for the missing tourist submersible that vanished while taking wealthy passengers on a voyage to the wreck of the Titanic in deep waters off Canada’s coast.
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The aircraft searching for the submarine had detected “banging” noises or underwater sounds every 30 minutes in the vicinity of the last known location of the divers, according to a report by The Independent.
Rescuers Race Against Time For Missing Titanic Submarine | Top Points
- The 21-foot-long Titan was built to stay underwater for 96 hours, according to its specifications – giving the five people aboard until Thursday morning before air runs out. One pilot and four passengers were inside the miniature sub early on Sunday when it lost communication with a parent ship on the surface about an hour and 45 minutes into its two-hour dive.
- As Canadian and US authorities stepped up the search, previous questions about the safety design and development of the submersible by its owner, US-based OceanGate Expeditions, came to light.
- The wreck of the Titanic, a British ocean liner that struck an iceberg and sank on its maiden voyage in April 1912, lies about 900 miles (1,450 km) east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and 400 miles (644 km) south of St. John’s, Newfoundland.
- US and Canadian aircraft have searched more than 7,600 square miles of open sea, an area larger than the state of Connecticut, US Coast Guard Captain Jamie Frederick told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday.
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- The Canadian military has dropped sonar buoys to listen for any sounds that might come from the Titan, and a commercial vessel with a remote-controlled deepwater submersible was also searching near the site, Frederick said.
- Those aboard Titan for a tourist expedition that costs $250,000 per person included British billionaire Hamish Harding, 58, and Pakistani-born businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48, with his 19-year-old son Suleman, who are both British citizens.
- French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77, and Stockton Rush, founder and CEO of OceanGate Expeditions, were also reported to be on board. Authorities have not confirmed the identity of any passenger, according to a report by news agency Reuters.
- Rescuers face significant obstacles both in finding the Titan and in saving the people aboard, according to experts. In the event of a mid-dive emergency, the pilot would likely have released weights to float back to the surface, according to Alistair Greig, a marine engineering professor at University College London. But absent communication, locating a van-sized submersible in the vast Atlantic could prove challenging, he said.
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- The submersible is sealed with bolts from the outside, preventing the occupants from escaping without assistance even if it surfaces. If the Titan is on the ocean floor, a rescue effort would be even more challenging due to the extreme conditions more than 2 miles beneath the surface. The Titanic lies 12,500 feet (3,810 meters) underwater, where no sunlight penetrates. Only specialized equipment can reach such depths without being crushed by the massive water pressure.
