THE Titanic sub-search crew looking for the Titan vessel have admitted they don't know what the underwater banging noises are as less than 24 hours remain to save the five trapped on board.
US Coast Guard officials held out hope of finding the missing submarine, working around the clock searching the vast 15,000 square mile area 900 miles east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
Rescue crews have dispatched two remote-operated vehicles (ROVs) to search the ocean surface and depths in the area of the Titanic wreckage, where they believe the Titan vessel may be.
On Tuesday evening, a Canadian P-3 aircraft heard banging noises in 30-minute intervals while looking for the vessel, which disappeared on Sunday during an underwater trip to see the Titanic wreck site 12,500ft below.
Coast Guard Captain Jamie Federick confirmed the noises were once again heard by several aircrafts on Wednesday morning.
"When you're in the middle of a search and rescue case, you always have hope. That's why we're doing what we do," Federick told reporters.
Despite the small glimmer of hope that the five crew members onboard the Titan may still be alive, Federick said officials have been unable to confirm the origin of the noises.
"With respect to the noises, specifically, we don't know what they are, to be frank with you," the Coast Guard captain said.
"We're searching in the area where the noises were detected."
Search crews said the two ROVs are "actively searching" an area two times the size of the state of Connecticut.
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Additional ROVs are en route to join the search operation in the North Atlantic, including the French ship Atalante, which is carrying the only underwater vehicle thought to be capable of winching the vessel to safety.
However, the boat is not expected to reach the area on Wednesday evening – just 12 hours before the crew’s oxygen supply is due to run out at midday on Thursday.
On board the ship is Victor 6000, a robot able to dive 20,000ft underwater.
The unnamed robot can dive deeper than other equipment at the search site.
It also has arms that can be remotely controlled to cut cables or perform other maneuvers to release a stuck vessel, the operator said.
TITAN SUBMARINE GOES MISSING
Communication was lost with the $250,000-a-head voyage just an hour and 45 minutes into its 12,500ft descent to the ruins of the Titanic on Sunday.
The Titan sub was due to resurface that afternoon but failed to do so, sparking a frantic rescue mission.
The vessel descended into the ocean depths with only 96 hours of breathable oxygen.
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On board the missing sub is crew members British billionaire Hamish Harding, British-based Pakistani tycoon Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman, French diving expert Paul-Henry Nargeolet, and OceanGate submarine boss Stockton Rush.
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