Debris field found near Titanic in search for missing submersible

A debris field was found near the wreck of the Titanic in the search for a missing submersible, the U.S. Coast Guard said Thursday.

The Coast Guard said in a Twitter post that the debris field was discovered by a remotely operated vehicle within the search area for the Titan submersible, which went missing Sunday during a visit to the 1912 wreck.

“Experts within the unified command are evaluating the information,” the Coast Guard added.

The submersible, which began its dive Sunday with about four days’ worth of oxygen, passed the critical 96-hour point at which breathable air was estimated to potentially have run out Thursday.

Coast Guard officials announced they would also hold a press briefing regarding the findings Thursday afternoon.

Five people were on board the vessel, including OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, whose company was running the expedition to the Titanic.

British adventurer Hamish Harding, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Sulaiman, and French explorer and Titanic expert Paul-Henry Nargeolet were also on board.

The submersible lost contact with a Canadian research ship on the surface less than two hours into its dive to the Titanic, which lies more than two miles beneath the ocean’s surface about 370 miles off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.

A frantic search and rescue operation was launched after the vessel failed to return Sunday afternoon. A sonar aircraft detected “underwater noises” in the search area early Wednesday morning, sparking some hope. However, authorities could not confirm whether the sounds came from the submersible. 

Updated at 12:49 p.m.