Sean Leet, left, chairman of Horizon Maritime Services, stands with Chief Mi'sel Joe of the Miawpukek First Nation, at a news conference at the harbour in St. John's, Wednesday, June 21, 2023. Underwater noises described as “banging†have been heard in an area of the Atlantic where a submersible disappeared three days ago near the wreck of the Titanic, search officials confirmed Wednesday. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sarah Smellie
The search for a submersible carrying five people has taken a grim turn as the U.S. Coast Guard has confirmed that a “debris field” has been discovered by a remotely operated vehicle near the wreck of the Titanic.
The brief coast guard statement says experts are evaluating the find, but no other details have been released.
The submersible Titan, operated by U.S.-based OceanGate Expeditions, lost contact with surface vessels on Sunday morning as it was nearing the famous shipwreck, a 3,800-metre dive that usually takes about two hours.
Since then, a massive international search effort has been assembling about 700 kilometres southeast of Newfoundland.
The search reached a critical stage today as the small vessel’s air supply was believed to be running low, but that looming deadline assumed the submersible was still intact.
American authorities have said “banging sounds” were detected in the search area on Tuesday and Wednesday, though the cause was unclear.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 22, 2023.
