Hunt for missing submersible ‘still active search and rescue’ mission, says operation leader
The head of the operation that is trying to find the missing Titan submersible has said that it is still an active search and rescue mission.
That is despite US Coast Guard estimates that the air supply in the vessel would run out at 12.08pm UK time on Thursday.
The vessel – operated by the US-based firm OceanGate – had five men on board when it went missing: British billionaire Hamish Harding, British businessman Shahzada Dawood, his son Suleman Dawood, OceanGate’s US-based chief executive and founder Stockton Rush and French submersible pilot Paul-Henri Nargeolet.
Rear Admiral John Mauger, from the US Coast Guard, told Sky News rescuers “remain hopeful” the submersible can be found, but revealed the “banging noises” detected by the sonar buoys dropped into the sea were possibly “ocean background noise”.
Titanic sub search – live: Rescue robot reaches sea floor – as oxygen forecast to have run out
He said: “We continue to keep the crew members and families in our thoughts.
“While we are cognisant of the time and we’ve factored in a lot of data and information into this search, this is still an active search and rescue at this point.
“We are using the equipment that we have on the bottom right now, remote-operated vehicles to expand our search capability, and also to provide rescue capability.”
He said conditions for the operation were “favourable” – and crews were making the most of the “weather window and the good conditions”.
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Missing sub: Timelapse shows vessels arriving
Aircraft continue to fly over the area looking for the submersible on the surface, he said, but the “focus right now is on that sub-sea search”, with the remotely-operated vehicles scouring the pathline where the planned dive had taken place.
The vessel disappeared on Sunday in the Atlantic Ocean, some 435 miles south of Newfoundland, Canada, during an expedition dive to see the wreck of the Titanic.
It lost communication with tour operators about an hour and 45 minutes after the vessel submerged.
Ships, planes and underwater craft from multiple countries have since been deployed to the area with rescuers advised by world-leading experts searching a remote part of the Atlantic Ocean more than twice the size of the US state of Connecticut in waters as deep as 4,020m (13,200ft).
Two ROVs searching for sub on sea floor
One of the vessels sent to help search efforts is French research vessel L’Atalante which has deployed a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), Victor 6000.
The unmanned French robot, which can dive to a depth of 6,000 metres (19,600ft), reached the search site a few hours before the critical 96-hour mark when oxygen was due to run out.
The wreck of the Titanic, which the Titan was heading towards, lies at a depth of about 3,810 metres (12,500ft).
While the vehicle cannot lift Titan to the surface on its own, it could help to hook it to a ship on the surface.
A second ROV – deployed by Canadian vessel Horizon Arctic – has also reached the sea floor and is looking for the missing submersible.
Both ROVs have cameras and sonar.
Mr Mauger said it was an “incredibly complex effort to get this equipment on site”, adding: “They have articulated arms that are capable of attaching equipment and attaching a rescue line.”
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Sub search reaches critical point
When will the rescue effort end?
Reports of underwater sounds in the area are still being investigated but it is believed much of it may be ocean background noise.
Asked about the sounds, Mr Mauger said that analysis of these by experts is ongoing.
“The initial report is that there’s a lot of the sounds that were generated were from background ocean noise, but they continue to… look for all available information there,” he said.
“What’s important to me… is that we’ve continued to search in the areas where noise was detected with the ROVs that we had from the time of that detection, so we’re not waiting for this analysis to take action.”
He said any decision to stop the rescue effort would be taken after a “thorough consultation” with the families of the passengers on the submersible.
“There’s a time and place for that discussion. Right now… we will remain focused on the search and rescue but continue to take in all available information as we plan out our future operation.”
He said there would in due course be an investigation into what has led to the submersible going missing.
“There’s going to be a time and place for a thorough investigation,” he added.
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Missing sub: ‘It takes a lot of courage’
‘Sub’s life support supplies are starting to run low’
In a statement published online Guillermo Sohnlein, co-founder of OceanGate, thanked the people involved in the search and rescue – and claimed the time window the people on board have is larger than the estimated 96 hours.
“Today will be a critical day in this search and rescue mission, as the sub’s life support supplies are starting to run low,” he said in a statement.
“I’m certain that Stockton and the rest of the crew realised days ago that the best thing they can do to ensure their rescue is to extend the limits of those supplies by relaxing as much as possible.
“I firmly believe that the time window available for their rescue is longer than what most people think.
“I would encourage everyone to remain hopeful for getting the crew back safely.”
However, some experts have said the chances of finding the sub and rescuing those inside is diminishing.
The situation is “gloomy” and “we have to prepare ourselves for the worst”, retired rear admiral Chris Parry told Sky News.
He said the chances of survival for the Titan crew are “vanishingly small”, given the “extreme limits for their oxygen”.
US president-elect Donald Trump has suggested Israel and Hamas could agree a Gaza ceasefire by the end of the week.
Talks between Israeli and Hamas representatives resumed in the Qatari capital Doha yesterday, after US President Joe Biden indicated a deal to stop the fighting was “on the brink” on Monday.
A draft agreement has been sent to both sides. It includes provisions for the release of hostages and a phased Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza.
Qatar says Israel and Hamas are at their “closest point” yet to a ceasefire deal.
Two Hamas officials said the group has accepted the draft agreement, with Israel still considering the deal.
An Israeli official said a deal is close but “we are not there” yet.
More than 46,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its ground offensive in the aftermath of the 7 October attacks, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Read more:
What’s in the proposed deal?
Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on beachfront cafe in Deir al Balah. Pic: Reuters
Biden hails possibility of agreement
President Biden said it would include a hostage release deal and a “surge” of aid to Palestinians, in his final foreign policy speech as president.
“So many innocent people have been killed, so many communities have been destroyed. Palestinian people deserve peace,” he said.
“The deal would free the hostages, halt the fighting, provide security to Israel, and allow us to significantly surge humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians who suffered terribly in this war that Hamas started.”
Qatari mediators have sent Israel and Hamas a draft proposal for an agreement to halt the fighting.
Analysis:
Deal might be close, but there are many unanswered questions
Pic: Reuters
Trump: ‘We’re very close’
President-elect Donald Trump has also discussed a possible peace deal during a phone interview with the Newsmax channel.
“We’re very close to getting it done and they have to get it done,” he said.
“If they don’t get it done, there’s going to be a lot of trouble out there, a lot of trouble, like they have never seen before.
“And they will get it done. And I understand there’s been a handshake and they’re getting it finished and maybe by the end of the week. But it has to take place, it has to take place.”
Read more:
Pope Francis honoured by Joe Biden
Donald Trump’s inauguration 2.0
Pic: AP
Israeli official: Former Hamas leader held up deal
Speaking on Tuesday as negotiations resumed in Qatar, an anonymous Israeli official said that an agreement was “close, but we are not there”.
They accused Hamas of previously “dictating, not negotiating” but said this has changed in the last few weeks.
“Yahya Sinwar was the main obstacle for a deal,” they added.
Sinwar, believed to be the mastermind of the 7 October attacks, led Hamas following the assassination of his predecessor but was himself killed in October last year.
Under Sinwar, the Israeli official claimed, Hamas was “not in a rush” to bring a hostage deal but this has changed since his death and since the IDF “started to dismantle the Shia axis”.
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Biden: ‘Never, never, never, ever give up’
Iran ‘weaker than it’s been in decades’
Yesterday, President Biden also hailed Washington’s support for Israel during two Iranian attacks in 2024.
“All told, Iran is weaker than it’s been in decades,” the president said.
Mr Biden claimed America’s adversaries were weaker than when he took office four years ago and that the US was “winning the worldwide competition”.
“Compared to four years ago, America is stronger, our alliances are stronger, our adversaries and competitors are
weaker,” he said.
“We have not gone to war to make these things happen.”
The US president is expected to give a farewell address on Wednesday.
A draft ceasefire deal on the table between Israel and Hamas would see 33 hostages set free and a phased withdrawal of IDF forces from parts of Gaza.
President Joe Biden said an agreement to stop the fighting was “on the brink” and high level negotiations between the two sides resumed in Qatar on Tuesday.
The deal would see a number of things happen in a first stage, with negotiations for the second stage beginning in the third week of the ceasefire.
It would also allow a surge in humanitarian aid into Gaza, which has been devastated by more than a year of war.
Details of what the draft proposal entails have been emerging on Tuesday, reported by Israeli and Palestinian officials.
Relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages hold photos of their loved ones during a protest on 8 January. Pic: AP
Hostages to be returned
In the first stage of the potential ceasefire, 33 hostages would be set free.
These include women (including female soldiers), children, men over the age of 50, wounded and sick.
Israel believes most of these hostages are alive but there has not been any official confirmation from Hamas.
In return for the release of the hostages, Israel would free more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
People serving long sentences for deadly attacks would be included in this but Hamas fighters who took part in the 7 October attack would not be released.
An arrangement to prevent Palestinian “terrorists” from going back to the West Bank would be included in the deal, an anonymous Israeli official said.
Read more:
A timeline of events since the 7 October attacks
The hostages who still haven’t returned home
Smoke billows as buildings lie in ruin in Beit Hanoun in Gaza. Pic: Reuters
Phased Israeli withdrawal from Gaza
The agreement also includes a phased withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, with IDF troops remaining in the border perimeter to defend Israeli border towns and villages.
Security arrangements would be implemented at the Philadelphi corridor – a narrow strip of land that runs along the border between Egypt and Gaza – with Israel withdrawing from parts of it after the first few days of the deal.
The Rafah Crossing between Egypt and Gaza would start to work gradually to allow the crossing of people who are sick and other humanitarian cases out of Gaza for treatment.
Unarmed North Gaza residents would be allowed to return to their homes, with a mechanism introduced to ensure no weapons are moved there.
“We will not leave the Gaza Strip until all our hostages are back home,” the Israeli official said.
What will happen to Gaza in the future?
There is less detail about the future of Gaza – from how it will be governed, to any guarantees that this agreement will bring a permanent end to the war.
“The only thing that can answer for now is that we are ready for a ceasefire,” the Israeli official said.
“This is a long ceasefire and the deal that is being discussed right now is for a long one. There is a big price for releasing the hostages and we are ready to pay this price.”
The international community has said Gaza must be run by Palestinians, but there has not been a consensus about how this should be done – and the draft ceasefire agreement does not seem to address this either.
In the past, Israel has said it will not end the war leaving Hamas in power. It also previously rejected the possibility of the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited governing powers in the West Bank, from taking over the administration of Gaza.
Since the beginning of its military campaign in Gaza, Israel has also said it would retain security control over the territory after the fighting ends.
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