Many questions still remain after pieces of the doomed Titanic tourist submarine were found on the ocean floor.
The vessel went missing on Sunday (June 18), around one hour and 45 minutes into its journey to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean to see the wreckage of the famed Titanic ship.
Having sent pings to the surface every 15 minutes, it suddenly stopped and a search-and-rescue operation for the vessel and its five crew members – which included two British residents and a British national – was launched.
READ MORE: Five critical Titanic submarine errors that added up to deadly ‘implosion’ disaster
Yesterday (Thursday, June 22) it was confirmed that all five on-board – including a British explorer and two British residents – were dead as the wreckage was found in two debris fields around 1,600 feet from the Titanic site.
(Image: Action Press/REX/Shutterstock)
However, it was those pings that have caused confusion.
Around two days into the search, it was reported that pings had been detected by a sonar device launched by a Canadian ship during the search.
The pings were initially reported as being “man-made banging sounds” – but were later downgraded to noises.
Investigations and analysis took placed, all of which provided “negative results”.
But it has left the public wondering just what those noises actually were, because they do appear to have come from the area of, and surrounding, the Titanic wreckage.
(Image: PA)
From whales to general ocean noises, the answer is unclear – but some experts are wading in on the debate.
Deep-sea exploration expert David Gallo told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “There’s not a lot in the natural world we can think of that would do that every 30-minute cycle.”
And Former Rear Admiral Chris Parry said: “You get a lot of mechanical noise in the ocean.”
But Matthew Schanck, a search and rescue expert, hinted that it could have been from the Titanic itself.
(Image: EyePress News/REX/Shutterstock)
He said: “There’s a massive metal wreck down there — the Titanic — the banging could be something as simple as a piece of that moving in the current or something to do with the wreck itself.”
Several experts, including marine robotics professor Stefan Williams from the University of Sydney told Business Insider that “it could have been Whales”.
The data is still being analysed, just in case it is something to do with the actual Titanic wreckage, but for now, the mystery remains unsolved.
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