Rescue teams searching for the missing Titanic sub have discovered a “debris field.” The Associated Press reports that the U.S. Coast Guard announced the discovery on Thursday, but did not indicate whether or not it is believed that the debris is connected to the missing OceanGate submersible. However, the Coast Guard has stated that a briefing regarding the debris will be held. “Experts within the unified command are evaluating the information,” the Coast Guard said, per CNN. Officials added that, during the briefing, experts will “discuss findings from the Horizon Arctic’s ROV on the sea floor near the Titanic.”
Speaking to NBC, Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger stated, “We continue to find in particularly complex cases that peoples’ will to live really needs to be accounted for … and so we’re continuing to search and proceed with rescue efforts by bringing this new capability online this morning.” In comments to CNN, oceanographer and water search expert David Gallo — who is the senior adviser for strategic initiatives at RMS Titanic Inc. — said, “The Coast Guard has done a very good job in putting the right tools with the right team in the right spot. So, the chances are as good as they can be.”
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The underwater exploration ship — known as Titan — set out on Sunday morning with five passengers aboard, with the intention of surveying the Titanic wreckage in the Atlantic Ocean. Eventually, OceanGate personnel lost contact with the submersible. Rescue teams soon began It has been believed that the sub began with roughly 96 hours of breathable air. However, there is no way of knowing what type of air conservation methods the passengers may have taken, if any. Thursday is considered a “critical” point in the search, according to Guillermo Sohnlein, the company’s co-founder.
“Today will be a critical day in this search and rescue mission, as the sub’s life support supplies are starting to run low,” Sohnlein said. He added that he feels “certain” that pilot Stockton Rush and the crew “realized days ago that the best thing they can do to ensure their rescue is to extend the limits of those 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.” The most promising update so far has been reports of noise being heard from the ocean, in the area of the Titanic wreckage. Search teams have been attempting to find the source of the noise, in the event it could be the Titan.
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AT SEA – (—-EDITORIAL USE ONLY â" MANDATORY CREDIT – " OCEANGATE/ HANDOUT" – NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS—-) An undated photo shows tourist submersible belongs to OceanGate begins to descent at a sea. Search and rescue operations continue by US Coast Guard in Boston after a tourist submarine bound for the Titanic's wreckage site went missing off the southeastern coast of Canada. (Photo by Ocean Gate / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
