‘We need to have hope’: Submersible search shifts towards underwater ‘banging’ noises
BOSTON (WLNE) — The U.S. Coast Guard confirmed Wednesday afternoon that they are still in the midst of a search and rescue operation for the missing Titanic submersible.
During a briefing in Boston, U.S Coast Guard Capt. Jamie Frederick said they have doubled the size of their search area, with more emergency resources on the way.
Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, Canadian aircrafts picked up consistent “banging” noises near the wreck.
“We need to have hope,” said Frederick. “We can’t tell you what the noises are, but the most important point is we are searching where the noises are.”
OceanGate Expeditions was making its third visit to the wreckage of the Titanic when it went missing in the Atlantic Ocean.
When the submersible called Titan departed Sunday morning, it had 96 hours of oxygen.
It is expected to run out of breathable air at about 6 a.m. on Thursday.
The U.S. and Canadian coast guards, international guard aircraft, and the Polar Prince have been racing against the clock to save the five people on board.
A submersible that takes people to see the wreckage of the Titanic was reported missing Monday, June 19, 2023. (OceanGate Expeditions)
Officials said the pilot and passengers are OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, British adventurer Hamish Harding, Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and Shahzada and Suleman Dawood, father and son.
The Dawoods are members of one of Pakistan’s most well known families.
Rush started the mission in 2021 to document the decay of the world-famous shipwreck.
“The ocean is taking this thing, and we need to document it before it all disappears or becomes unrecognizable,” Rush told The Associated Press in 2021.
The Coast Guard did not say in the latest update on Tuesday if they have the equipment necessary onsite to save the five on board in time if they were located.
Boston is serving as the rescue and coordination command center of the search.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
