The US Coast Guard searching for a missing submersible has said it doesn’t know what the “noises” are that have been detected – but it is expanding the search area.
The area is now more than twice the size of the US state of Connecticut.
A Coast Guard spokesman said they “need to have hope” and that additional remote search devices will arrive tomorrow that have extra capabilities.
“Our efforts are solely focused on search,” and the spokesman added: “This is a search and rescue operation – 100%.”
The noises were heard by a Canadian plane this morning and some yesterday.
The submersible, called Titan, went missing on Sunday as it descended toward the wreckage of the Titanic.
The five men on board are Stockton Rush, British billionaire Hamish Harding, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, and French submersible pilot Paul-Henri Nargeolet.
Overnight, there were reports of “banging”, but two senior Department of Homeland Security officials have NBC News, Sky’s partner network, that it’s more accurate to talk of “sounds” and “noises”.
News of the noises was cautiously welcomed by those in the underwater exploration community.