NNA – All communication was lost withnbsp;the 21-foot (6.5-meter) craftnbsp;during its descent Sunday to see the remains of the British passenger liner, which sits more than two miles (nearly four kilometers) below the surface of the North Atlantic.
USnbsp;and Canadian coast guard ships and planes are scouring 7,600 square miles of ocean (around 20,000 square kilometers) — larger than the US state of Connecticut — for the vessel, which was attempting to dive about 400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland,nbsp;Canada.
quot;Canadian P-3 aircraft detected underwater noises in the search area. As a result, ROV (remotely operated vehicle) operations were relocated in an attempt to explore the origin of the noises,quot; the US Coast Guard#39;s First District said on its official Twitter page.
The ROV searches had so far not yielded results, but would continue, the military branch said, adding that data from the Canadian aircraft had been shared with US Navy experts to inform future search plans.
The submersible, named Titan, was carrying three fee-paying passengers, including a British billionaire and a Pakistani tycoon and his son. OceanGate Expeditions charges $250,000 for a seat on the sub, which is about the size of an average truck.
The US Coast Guard announcement is the most encouraging sign yet that those on board may still be alive.
Rescuenbsp;aid has been pouring in from around the world, with a specialized winch system for lifting heavy objects from extreme depths, other equipment and personnel due to join the rescue effort on Tuesday night, according to the US Navy.
Thenbsp;Pentagonnbsp;said it was deploying a third C-130 aircraft and three C-17s, whilenbsp;France#39;s oceanographic institute announced a deep-sea underwater robot and its experts would arrive in the area on Wednesday.
quot;This is a very complex search and the unified team is working around the clock to bring all available assets and expertise to bear as quickly as possible,quot; US Coast Guard Captain Jamie Frederick told reporters.
quot;Logistically speaking, it#39;s hard to bring assets to bear. It takes time, it takes coordination,quot; he added.nbsp;Rescuers estimate that passengers have less than two days of oxygen left, based on the sub#39;s capacity to hold up to 96 hours of emergency air.
quot;There#39;snbsp;about 40 hours of breathable air left basednbsp;on that initial report,quot; Frederick said at around 1:00 pm (1700 GMT) Tuesday.–AFP
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