Rescuers continue to search for the tourist submarine Titan, which disappeared on its way to the wreck of the Titanic, and the latest information indicates that rhythmic “knocking” has been detected in the area being searched, writes the BBC.
According to the US Coast Guard, a Canadian P-3 aircraft picked up the noises, which are currently being analyzed by US Navy experts. Also, the underwater operations have been moved to look more closely at the origin of the noise. So far, the search has not yielded results, but it is being continued.
According to US government records, the knocks were heard at 30-minute intervals on Tuesday, the 20th of June.
Additional sonar was used a few hours later and the noises were still heard.
According to the US Coast Guard, the five people on the submarine still had about 30 hours of oxygen left as of Wednesday morning.
The rescue mission is difficult, communication with the tourist submarine Titan is impossible, and visibility underwater is rapidly decreasing, turning into complete darkness at a depth of 1,000 meters. The weather conditions in the area of the Atlantic Ocean where the submarine is being searched for are also unfavorable.
Currently, an area of 19,700 square kilomemeters has been searched.
US Coast Guard Captain Jamie Frederick said: “Our teams are working around the clock to make sure everything possible is done to find the Titan and the missing people.”
US and Canadian government and military forces are involved in the search, which is being led out of Boston, and many private companies are also helping.
Captain Frederick stated that a major effort is being made to get the heavy equipment to the search area.
Also en route are Canadian Coast Guard vessels and the Royal Canadian Navy, whose vessel is equipped with a decompression chamber. If the submarine is found, the chamber will be needed to treat and prevent decompression sickness, which occurs when divers are exposed to rapid changes in pressure.
France has dispatched a search vessel equipped with an underwater robot and a remotely operated camera-equipped vessel to study the submarine’s last known location.
Read also: Tourist submarine lost on the way to Titanic wreck; rescuers race against the time