Tourists may still be alive, but there is a "bang" sound coming from the area where the US submarine is lost: once every 30 minutes. Supervisor | Submarine | Possible
According to the New York Post on June 21, a Canadian plane participating in the search and rescue of the wreckage of the Titanic sightseeing submarine can detect a "bang" every 30 minutes in the area where the submarine is lost. The US Coast Guard has confirmed the presence of potential signs of life on the submarine, indicating that stranded tourists may still be alive.
According to reports, the "knocking sound" was detected around 2am local time on the 20th, and four hours after the sound was detected, the newly deployed sonar can still detect a "bang" sound. Explorer Club President Richard Garriott issued a statement on the evening of the 20th, stating that the detected knocking sound gave people "more confidence" in finding the missing submarine.
According to this latest update, the US Coast Guard has dispatched a remote-controlled submersible to the area where sound has been detected, but so far, the search has yielded nothing.
Who are they
58 year old Harding is the chairman of Action Aviation, a private airline. Harding loves exploration and extreme sports. He has traveled to Antarctica multiple times and launched the first regular business plane route to Antarctica. He is a licensed pilot, a skydiver, and also a director of the British Explorer Club.
The day before departure, Harding expressed on social media that he was proud to go to the Titanic as a "mission expert". "Due to Newfoundland's worst winter in 40 years, this mission is likely to be the first and only manned mission to the Titanic in 2023," he said.
The Dawood family is one of the wealthiest families in Pakistan, and according to American media reports, the family owns the listed company Dawood Hercules. Shahzada Dawood, who is 48 years old this year, is the UK Vice Chairman of the chemical company Englo Group under the group. Engro Company mainly invests in fertilizers, automotive manufacturing, energy, and digital technology. Shahzada Dawood's son Suleiman is also on this submarine, 19 years old this year.
The other person on this submarine, former French Navy commander Nargole, is an authoritative figure in the field of sunken ship ruins. He is known as the "Mr. Titanic" and led the first salvage expedition of the Titanic in 1987. Over the past 35 years, he has participated in several surveys of the wreckage of the Titanic and conducted hundreds of hours of observation.
Rush is the founder and CEO of OceanGate, which owns the missing submarine. The company has successfully completed over 14 explorations and over 200 diving missions in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Gulf of Mexico.
According to OceanGate, the cost of exploring the sunken ship this time is $250000 per person, and the exploration activity lasts for 8 days, mainly leading passengers to closely observe the wreckage of the Titanic, but also undertaking scientific tasks. According to reports, a complete diving process usually takes 8 hours to reach the location of the sunken ship.
Retired Canadian private equity fund manager Taylor and his son participated in an adventure at OceanGate in July last year. Taylor revealed that they spent about a week, during which they received a lot of training, including risk assessment. They are able to work very closely with engineers and technicians, and assist them in completing system inspections.
Search and rescue process
The wreckage of the Titanic is located at a depth of approximately 3800 meters underwater. As early as the 1980s, various exploration groups had developed plans to allow tourists to pay to visit the wreckage of the Titanic.
According to the US Coast Guard, the submarine lost contact after diving for 1 hour and 45 minutes. The boat has a total of 96 hours of oxygen supply.
According to Owen, a retired official of the Royal Australian Navy and head of submarine evacuation and rescue projects, based on time calculations, the submarine may have been approaching or at the bottom of the sea when it lost contact.
Professor Greg, a submarine expert at University College London, said that in the event of an electrical or communication failure, submarines can use buoyancy to return to the surface by releasing the "falling weight". But if the ship is damaged and leaks occur, it will be difficult to implement self rescue measures. "If the submarine has already sunk to the seabed and cannot return under its own power, then the options are very limited," he said.
Captain Frederick, Director of the Enforcement Department of the First Coast Guard District of the United States Coast Guard, revealed at a press conference on the 20th local time that large-scale sea and air search and rescue operations began on the evening of the 18th. The heavy fog made it difficult for staff to search for the submarine on Monday this week, but the weather cleared up on Tuesday. So far, the search and rescue has covered 7600 square miles of remote waters, but there have been no results.
The White House spokesperson stated that US President Biden is "closely monitoring" the disappearance of a submarine. The US Coast Guard, Canadian officials, and other agencies are all conducting search operations. The spokesperson stated that the US Navy is also on standby because they have the "deep water capability" that the Coast Guard may not necessarily have.
The French government has also confirmed that French President Macron has ordered the dispatch of the research ship Atalant to join the international search operation. This ship is expected to arrive at the site on Wednesday evening local time.
