Mystery banging noises that sparked hope in desperate search for missing Titan submersible released for first time
28 February 2024, 15:04 | Updated: 28 February 2024, 16:22
The banging noises heard by rescuers hunting for the Titan submersible have been released for the first time.
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Stockton Rush, UK billionaire Hamish Harding, French explorer Paul Henry Nargeolet, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son, Suleman, all died last June after the Titan, the deep sea submersible they were in, catastrophically imploded.
The disappearance of the sub, which was heading to the Titanic, on June 18 sparked a huge rescue effort, and at one point banging sounds were heard by the people hunting for the sub - sparking faint hopes that the passengers could be saved.
Investigators believe the Titan imploded as it made its descent into the deep North Atlantic waters.
Titan Sub documentary reveals banging was heard in audio near time of incident
The banging noises, which came at 30-minute intervals, were picked up on sonar by a Canadian aircraft in the Atlantic.
Now they have been played for the first time in a new documentary, and have a hollow, regular beat.
At the time, this sparked hope that they could be an SOS message being banged out by the five passengers onboard.
Former Navy submarine captain Ryan Ramsey told the documentary makers: "It could be somebody knocking, the symmetry between those knockings is very unusual.
"It's rhythmic, it's like somebody is making that sound, and the fact that it is repeated is really unusual."
The cause of the noises was disputed during the rescue effort, with some experts claiming it was probably caused by sea debris, rather than the desperate passengers.
Coast Guard Captain Jamie Frederick said at the time: "With respect to the noises, specifically, we don't know what they are, to be frank with you."
The documentary, Minute by Minute: The Titan Sub Disaster investigates the events leading up to the expedition. It will air on Channel 5 on March 6 and 7.
Crews spent five days hunting the missing sub down before they discovered debris on the ocean floor near the wreck of the Titanic. Passengers had paid £250,000 a head.
OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush had claimed that the trip was "safer than crossing the street", with his company coming under fire following the incident for their experimental engineering techniques.
Addressing the banging noises, an internal US government email read: "RCC Halifax launched a P8, Poseidon, which has underwater detection capabilities from the air."
"The PH deployed sonobuoys, which reported a contact in a position close to the distress position. The P8 heard banging sounds in the area every 30 minutes.
"Four hours later additional sonar was deployed and banging was still heard."
But the US Coast Guard said after an "attempt to explore the origin of the noises... searches have yielded negative results but continue".
It was reported last year that US authorities are investigating people involved in the Titanic sub, with a view to possibly filing criminal charges.
OceanGate has since gone out of business.
Channel 5 / ITN Productions / The Titan Sub Disaster: Minute by Minute
