US Coast Guard confirms ‘underwater noises’ detected in search for missing sub

Rescuers searching for a missing tourist submersible near the wreck of the Titanic have detected “underwater noises” in the search area, the US Coast Guard said on Wednesday, with oxygen for the five on board rapidly running out more than two days after they lost contact.

All communication was lost with the 21-foot craft during its descent Sunday to see the remains of the British passenger liner, which sits more than two miles (nearly four kilometers) below the surface of the North Atlantic.

The Titan, operated by US-based OceanGate Expeditions, was built to stay underwater for 96 hours, according to its specifications — giving the five people aboard until Thursday morning before air runs out.

The US Coast Guard said on Tuesday at about 1700 GMT that it had enough air left for 41 hours, based on its specifications, which would mean a deadline of roughly 1000 GMT on Thursday. But experts say the air supply depends on a range of factors, including whether the submersible remains intact and still has power.

Engro Corp Vice Chairman Shahzada Dawood, his 19-year-old son Suleman, British billionaire Hamish Harding, French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush were on board the craft that went missing near the wreck of the Titanic.

Teams from the United States, Canada and France had searched more than 10,000 square miles of open sea, roughly the size of Lebanon or the US state of Massachusetts, for the submersible by Wednesday night.

“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 ROV searches “have yielded negative results but continue,” the maritime military branch added.

The Coast Guard did not detail the nature or extent of the sounds that were detected, or how they were picked up.