'Banging' sound heard by crew searching submersible near Titanic wreck: Report

The 21-foot-long Titan was built to stay underwater for 96 hours, according to its specifications.

Published on: Jun 21, 2023, 10:17:30 IST

By HT News Desk

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A Canadian aircraft searching the Titan submersible that vanished on its way to visit the wreck of the Titanic detected banging sounds in 30-minute intervals, according to US media reports. Citing an internal government memo on the search, reports suggest that the banging was being heard even after four hours following the deployment of additional sonar devices.

IRescuers raced against time to find the missing submersible carrying Harding and four other people, who were reported overdue Sunday night. (AP)

The internal memos - reported by Rolling Stone and CNN - say:

“The P8 [seacraft] deployed sonobuoys, which reported a contact in a position close to the distress position."

"The P8 heard banging sounds in the area every 30 minutes. Four hours later additional sonar was deployed and banging was still heard.”

A subsequent update suggested more sounds were heard – not described as banging this time – indicating “continued hope of survivors.”

A frantic search operation to locate the submersible in the North Atlantic entered its third day on Tuesday after it went missing while taking wealthy passengers on a voyage to the wreck of the Titanic in deep waters off Canada's coast. Rescuers from around the world are racing against the clock to locate the vessel and its five-person crew before their oxygen runs out.

The 21-foot submersible was carrying three fee-paying passengers when it vanished Sunday: British billionaire Hamish Harding, Pakistani tycoon Shahzada Dawood and Dawood's son Suleman.

The wreckage of Titani lies 12,500 feet underwater, where no sunlight penetrates. Only specialized equipment can reach such depths without being crushed by the massive water pressure.

"It's really a bit like being an astronaut going into space," said Tim Matlin, a Titanic expert. "I think if it's on the seabed, there are so few submarines that are capable of going that deep. And so, therefore, I think it was going to be almost impossible to effect a sub-to-sub rescue."

(With inputs from agencies)

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