The Titan submersible descended towards the Titanic wreck on Sunday morning, but the vessel lost contact. Photo: AFP
The US Coast Guard said a “debris field” has been discovered by an underwater robot near the search area at the wreck of the Titanic for a missing submersible carrying five passengers.
The development comes after rescuers insisted that the multinational mission to locate the OceanGate Titan submersible was still focused on finding the crew alive despite fears that the vessel’s oxygen may have run out.
The US Coast Guard said the debris field was found “within the search area by an ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) near the Titanic.”
While the US Coast Guard did not provide more details and said it would hold a press conference later, dive expert David Mearns told the BBC the president of the Explorers Club – which is connected to the diving community – said the debris includes “a landing frame and a rear cover from the submersible”.
“Experts within the unified command are evaluating the information,” a statement by the US Coast Guard on Twitter added.
The Titan submersible descended towards the Titanic wreck on Sunday morning, but the vessel lost contact with its support ship on the surface just two hours later.
The sub is carrying British billionaire Hamish Harding, Pakistani tycoon Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, the CEO of OceanGate Expeditions Stockton Rush, and French submarine operator Paul-Henri Nargeolet.
Nargeolet is the director of a deep ocean research project dedicated to the Titanic.
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Ships and planes have scoured 10,000 square miles (around 20,000 square kilometres) of surface water — roughly the size of the US state of Massachusetts — for the vessel.
The Titanic’s watery grave is situated 400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, and more than two miles below the surface of the North Atlantic.
Experts say that even if the submersible is found, raising it from deep water would be challenging.
The co-founder of the company that owns the sub, OceanGate, said Thursday was “a critical day” in the search. In a statement on Facebook, Guillermo Sohnlein said the group may have extended their life support supplies by “relaxing as much as possible.”
“I firmly believe that the time window available for their rescue is longer than what most people think,” Sohnlein said.
“I would encourage everyone to remain hopeful for getting the crew back safely. In 1972, a similar rescue operation was able to retrieve two pilots trapped in a downed submersible with only 72 hours of life support. I continue to hold out hope for my friend and the rest of the crew,” he said.
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