- Canadian maritime surveillance aircraft reported to have detected ‘banging sounds in the area every 30 minutes’.
WASHINGTON (Agencies): A Canadian aircraft involved in the search for the deep-sea vessel that went missing during a voyage to the wreck of the Titanic has detected “underwater noises in the search area”, the United States Coast Guard said.
As a result of the noises detected by the P-3 maritime surveillance aircraft, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) were relocated “in an attempt to explore the origin of the noises”, the coastguard said on Wednesday.
So far, remotely operated underwater vehicles have “yielded negative results” but they are continuing to search, the coastguard said in a tweet.
“Additionally, the data from the P-3 aircraft has been shared with our US Navy experts for further analysis which will be considered in future search plans,” it added.
The coastguard did not detail the nature or extent of the sounds that were detected or how they were encountered.
Rolling Stone magazine, citing internal US government communications, was the first to report news of what was described as “banging sounds in the area every 30 minutes”.
“Four hours later additional sonar was deployed and banging was still heard,” the magazine said, citing an internal email sent to US Department of Homeland Security officials.
The missing submersible Titan, operated by US-based OceanGate Expeditions, was built to stay underwater for 96 hours, according to its specifications – giving the five people on board until Thursday morning before air runs out, according to officials.
The wreck of the Titanic, which sank on its maiden voyage in April 1912, lies about 1,450km (900 miles) east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and 644km (400 miles) south of St John’s, Newfoundland.
Three C-17 transport planes from the US military have been used to move commercial submersible and support equipment from Buffalo, New York, to St John’s, Newfoundland, to aid in the search, a spokesperson for US Air Mobility Command said.