Time is pressing in the search for the missing submersible with 5 people on board since last Sunday.
It is estimated that the air supply in the Titan submersible will run out in a matter of a few hours, which is why the search operation in the north of the Atlantic Ocean has been intensified.
The United States Coast Guard (USCG), which is coordinating the rescue operation, has doubled the search area after reporting that other underwater noises have been heard.
These new noises have not yet been identified as the “sounds of blows” recorded hours ago that gave a small glimmer of hope about the possible whereabouts of the boat.
It is believed that strong sea currents could have dragged the Titan out of the area where it sank, so the search was extended to an area close to 40,000 square kilometers.
From other countries, such as France, they are mobilizing to reinforce the search operation by sending remotely operated vehicles that can reach the seabed almost 4 kilometers deep.
In the United Kingdom, for its part, the shipment of the Juliet submersible is being prepared, with which the British company Magellan was able to produce the impressive images of the remains of the Titanic that were recently published.
Juliet’s transfer aboard a C17 cargo plane will take about 48 hours.
Ray of hope
The search teams cling to the possibility of finding the 5 people who were going to visit the remains of the Titanic alive after detecting “sounds of blows” in the area where the Titan ship, belonging to the company, has been searched since Sunday Ocean Gate.
This lost all communication on Sunday during a dive with 5 crew members on board towards the remains of the Titanic, settled on the seabed at a depth of about 3,800 meters off the Canadian coast of Newfoundland, in the Atlantic Ocean.
However, so far the remotely operated vehicles have delivered “negative results,” according to the USCG.
In addition, the authorities have emphasized that the sounds may come from the metal of the remains of the Titanic or from any other source that is not the missing submersible, for which reason they are being analyzed by specialists.
the latest developments
The rescue is progressing against the clock, since the submersible disappeared on Sunday had oxygen reserves for about 96 hours and now it would be entering its last reserves.
This Wednesday night The first remote-controlled underwater vehicle capable of working at the required depth arrived at the sitethe Victor 6000.
Earlier, Coast Guard Captain Jamie Frederick gave a press conference to report on the latest developments.
He indicated that there are five ships looking for the Titan on the surface, to which another five will be added in the next 24 hours.
The unmanned underwater vehicles were relocated to places close to where the noises were detected, although so far they have not found anything noteworthy, he explained.
For his part, aerospace scientist Carl Hartsfield explained that it is very difficult to discern the origin of the noises that were detected.
He stated that in the search area there are “multiple sensors that take the data to the world’s leading experts and they return it to the rescue team so they can make decisions.”
“They have to rule out possible artificial sources of noise other than the Titan,” he added.
This is not white noise
Jonathan Amos, BBC science correspondent, reported that deep-sea experts he has spoken to say it is difficult to determine what these noises might be without looking at the data.
“But ands may be short, high-pitched, relatively high-frequency noises produced by striking the titanium bell with another piece of metal or hard object inside the pressure submersible.”
This should be distinguished from the general white noise of the ocean, especially if it has a regular pattern at time intervals, Amos added.
“Certainly, it would appear that the rescue operation is convinced enough by the sounds to follow them, even moving their ROV operations to a different location,” he concluded.
Simon Boxall, senior professor of oceanography at the University of Southampton, explained that “the pressure there [el naufragio del Titanic está a 3.800 m bajo el agua] it’s gigantic.”
“It would crush anyone who tried to get out of the submersible. If you tried to escape at that depth, you would last less than a second.“he added.
Because of this, the sub would need to be brought to the surface, considering that the missing Titan weighs 10,432 kg.
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See original article on BBC