It is unclear when the shots were heard yesterday or how long it lasted. An update sent later Tuesday suggested more noise was being heard, according to CNN. Sounds, according to the update, indicate that “hope for the survivors” is justified.
The US Coast Guard is expanding its search for the missing submarine Titan. Searches have already been carried out from the air and from the water, but the Coast Guard will also search with a submarine. He said it at a press conference. France sends a ship with a deep sea robot to help. One of the Titan’s five crew members is a well-known French researcher.
Contact with the 6.5m submarine was lost on Sunday. According to the company leading the expedition, OceanGate Expeditions, the oxygen remained on board for 96 hours. It is possible that the submarine is no longer under water, but has surfaced in an unknown location. About 26,000 square kilometers have already been searched.
Competition
Research is a race against time. “Currently our deployment is limited to sonar buoys and listening for sounds, but we are working hard to expand that deployment. We have an idea where the sub was operating. Those are the areas we’re now looking at first,” said a Coast Guard commander. The Titan’s company is helping, as is the Canadian Coast Guard.
The Titan was bound for the passenger liner Titanic, which sank in 1912 at a depth of 3800 meters in the Atlantic Ocean. On board is French Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, French and British media reported. Titanic, was part of the first expedition to explore the famous wreck in 1987.
British businessman and adventurer Hamish Harding was previously reported to be in the Titan, as are British-Pakistani business consultant Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman. The fifth occupant is reportedly the head of OceanGate Expeditions, Stockton Rush.
Whistler
OceanGate’s former director of maritime operations was fired in 2018 after raising concerns about passenger safety. This is evident from the court records of that year.
David Lochridge, a Scottish diver and submarine operator, has worked for OceanGate since 2015. In a lawsuit against his former employer, he said he was fired in January 2018 after raising “serious safety concerns” over the “experimental and untested of the Titan”.
Lochridge was particularly concerned about OceanGate’s refusal to “perform critical and non-destructive tests” on the submarine’s hull. According to him, the passengers would be in danger if the Titan were to dive to extreme depths. For example, a forward porthole was designed to withstand pressure at a depth of 1300 meters, while OceanGate expected to go down to 4000 meters.