The rescuers using sonar to search for the missing Titanic submersible with five people onboard detected underwater “banging" sounds in the North Atlantic where the craft vanished two days earlier.
The US Coast Guard confirmed on Wednesday that the rescue teams detected “underwater noises" in the search area where the craft went missing.
“Canadian P-3 aircraft detected underwater noises in the search area. As a result, ROV (remotely operated vehicle) operations were relocated in an attempt to explore the origin of the noises," the US Coast Guard’s First District said on its official Twitter page.
The announcement is the most encouraging sign yet that the tourists who were en route Sunday to visit the wreckage of the Titanic in a 21-foot minisub might still be alive, as rescue teams race to reach them before their air supply runs out.
Explorers Club, a rescue group involved in the operation, said that the data from the site showed “likely signs of life."
A Canadian P-8 aircraft involved in the search had “heard banging sounds in the area every 30 minutes. Four hours later additional sonar was deployed and banging was still heard," said an internal email sent to US Department of Homeland Security officials, according to Rolling Stone magazine.
However, it was not clear when the noises were heard Tuesday, for how long, or what might have caused them.
The development comes after teams from around the world were racing against the clock on Tuesday to locate the vessel and its five-person crew before their oxygen runs out.
All communication was lost with the 21-foot craft during its descent Sunday to see the remains of the British passenger liner, which sits nearly four kilometers below the surface of the North Atlantic.
The submersible, named Titan, was carrying three fee-paying passengers- British billionaire Hamish Harding, Pakistani tycoon Shahzada Dawood and Dawood’s son Suleman. OceanGate Expeditions charges $250,000 for a seat on the sub, which is about the size of an average truck.
(With inputs from AFP)