Titanic sub searchers detect ‘banging sounds’ on sonar sparking hope missing crew could be alive and signaling for help
BANGING sounds have been heard underwater in the search for the missing Titan submersible, sparking new hope that crew members could be signaling for help.
Searchers said they heard banging in 30-minute intervals while looking for the vessel, which disappeared on Sunday during an underwater trip to see the Titanic wreckage.
Another aircraft located a white rectangular object in the water but a ship sent to investigate changed course to look into the banging, reported.
A pal of trapped British billionaire Hamish Harding said the regular banging is exactly the tactic his friend would employ if stranded in the depths of the Atlantic.
Chris Brown, an explorer and friend of Mr Harding, told BBC Breakfast the reported banging sounds has "got them written all over it".
He added it was "just the sort of thing I would have expected Hamish to come up with".
The president of the Explorers Club, an international association that advances exploration efforts and technology, said that "signs of life" at the site were "cause for hope."
"They're at least trying to operate or encourage the rescue efforts to continue."
OceanGate boasts state-of-the-art technology that can advance human exploration to unprecedented depths.
This heavily complicates rescue efforts as first responders have only been able to safely dive 2,000 feet below the surface.
The US Navy shared plans on Tuesday to send a deep-water lifting system to help with search efforts.
During a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, First District Response Coordinator Capt. Jamie Frederick said officials have already scoured a 7,600 square mile area - which is roughly the size of Connecticut.
Canadian forces and a number of private vessels are also aiding the search.
Even if they're able to locate the missing vessel before its oxygen supplies run out on Thursday morning, Frederick conceded there was no guarantee that rescuers will be able to bring the sub to the surface.
OceanGate, one of few companies offering trips to see the Titanic ruins, confirmed a major search mission has been launched to ";bring the crew back safely."
The deepest successful underwater rescue in history was in 1973 when British engineers Roger Mallinson and Roger Chapman were saved after their submersible became trapped on the seabed at 1,575ft.
This operation would be 11,000ft deeper.
SAFETY FEARS
It comes as ex-passengers have also told tales of radio failures and flickering lights while onboard the Titan.
Mike Reiss, who works on the classic US TV animated show The Simpsons, made the trip last year on the sub Titan and said communication failures were common.
He said: “I have taken three different dives with this company, one at the Titanic and two others and you almost always lost communication — and you are at the mercy of weather.”
Renata Rojas, a banker who visited the wreckage last July, described what happened when sonar failed during her trip.
She said: “You have to find a way to communicate and navigate in the bottom of the ocean.
“Sometimes you don’t have communications, you have maybe just one system instead of all three.
“Some of the lights may flicker... The battery might be low and you need to go to the surface.”
France's oceanographic institute is currently sending its vessel Atalante to the scene - carrying their underwater robot Victor 6000.
The ship should arrive at the Titan's last known location at 6pm on Wednesday.
The robot has the ability to search at 20,000ft.
NO CONTACT
Titan is understood to have lost contact with the Polar Prince just one hour and 45 minutes into the expedition.
Every 15 minutes, Titan also sends "pings" to the Polar Prince.
The final of these pings is understood to have been sent at around 11.30am local time on Sunday, directly above the Titanic.
After that, no contact was had with the vessel at all - but Canada's Coast Guard wasn't alerted until after 9pm.
The family of Dawood and his son Suleman - who recently graduated from International School Cobham - have asked for people to "pray for their safety."
They said: "We are very grateful for the concern being shown by our colleagues and friends and would like to request everyone to pray for their safety."
Mr Darwood is vice chairman of Dawood Hercules Corporation, part of the Dawood Group, which has been a family business for more than a century, according to Seti Institute's website.
He and his family live in a gated home in Surrey, and a neighbor told The Sun that the house was currently being renovated and that they had been away for some time.
He described them as a humble couple who threw garden parties for their neighbours having been at the private home for the past eight or nine years.
Another passenger, 58-year-old aviator and businessman Mr Harding, is known as one of the leaders of the record-breaking mission to orbit the Earth via both poles in 2019.
His stepson confirmed that he was one of the crew on board the sub.
Mr Harding posted on Facebook about poor weather conditions before the trip began.
"There are no switches and things to bump into, we have one button to turn it on.
"Everything else is done with touch screens and computers, and so you really become part of the vehicle and everybody gets to know everyone pretty well."
DOOMED VOYAGE
The Titanic sank on its maiden voyage to New York on April 14, 1912, after hitting an iceberg.
More than 1,500 of the 2,200 passengers and crew onboard were killed, and many died within minutes of being thrown into the -2C waters.
The decaying wreck of the 822ft liner was first discovered in 1985 but due to its depth and strong currents even the best underwater cameras have only offered a small snapshot into its colossal remains.
Its bow and the stern that broke apart during the sinking lie more than 2,600ft apart and are surrounded by an unending field of exposed debris.
But last month, the ship's haunting wreck was revealed as never before in stunningly detailed 3D scans on the ocean floor.
Scientists hope the high-resolution digital images - the clearest view ever of the world's most famous shipwreck - could shed new light on the disaster.
The British luxury passenger liner took under three years to construct, costing around $1.6million - equating to about $185million today.
Thousands of workers were involved in the project, with some 14,000 men employed during the peak of construction.
The frame was fully formed in just over a year, with the shell plating finished shortly afterward.
The steamship was released from its dry dock in 1911 and work on the interior began.
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Just eight days before its maiden voyage, it was declared seaworthy.