12:15 Wednesday update
The U.S. Coast Guard said it’s analyzing noises from the site where a submergible went missing as it carried tourists to the wreckage of the Titanic under the Atlantic Ocean.
In a noon CT Wednesday update, Coast Guard Capt. Jamie Frederick said a team is analyzing data and sorting out if the noises could be from the craft, known as Titan.
“We don’t know what they are, to be frank with you,” Frederick said of the noises.
Five people were on board when it was reported missing over the weekend. The mini-submarine-like vessel might be running out of oxygen inside.
“This is a search-and-rescue mission 100 percent,” Frederick said. “We need to have hope.”
Previous update: 9:30 a.m. Tuesday
Eight more ships will join the search on Wednesday morning and afternoon for a missing submersible that was taking tourists to the wreckage of the Titanic.
Two Canadian Coast Guard ships and a commercial ship arrived at the Atlantic Ocean search site on Wednesday morning, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a tweet.
Earlier Wednesday, the Coast Guard said a Canadian surveillance plane “detected underwater noises” near where the tourist sub disappeared over the weekend with five people aboard.
Rolling Stone magazine earlier reported that the Canadian plane had detected “banging sounds” in 30-minute intervals.
“We don’t know the source of that noise, but we’ve shared that information with Navy experts to classify it,” U.S. Coast Guard First District Commander Rear Admiral John Mauger told “CBS This Morning” on Wednesday.
The submersible, known as Titan, lost contact with its mother ship about 1 hour and 45 minutes into its dive, authorities said.
Retired Navy Capt. Ray Scott “Chip” McCord said a salvage operation for the craft, even if found, would be difficult. Scott has 30 years of experience in managing salvage operations.
“There’s very few assets in the world that can go down that deep,” Scott told CNN.
Other media reports on Wednesday morning revealed the company that owns the missing submersible, OceanGate, was the target of complaints, alleging negligence in its operations. A former employee, David Lochridge, raised questions about Titan’s hull in a 2018 lawsuit.
“The paying passengers would not be aware, and would not be informed, of this experimental design, the lack of non-destructive testing of the hull, or that hazardous, flammable materials were being used within the submersible,” Lochridge’s filing stated.
Lochridge alleged that OceanGate “immediately fired” him and gave him “approximately 10 minutes to immediately clear out his desk and exit the premises.”
The U.S. Coast Guard said it will provide an update on the search at noon CT Wednesday.