Following the heartbreaking moment where the oxygen onboard the missing sub is estimated to have run out, an expert has explained what could have caused the banging sounds that gave rescuers hope.
As previously reported, the sub known as Titan has been missing since it descended into the depths of the Atlantic Ocean on Sunday morning.
After losing communication with the research vessel, Polar Prince, after an hour and 45 minutes into the dive, concerns began to mount.
The sub was due to reemerge at 07:00PM GMT, and the US Coast Guard was informed about the situation at 09:00PM after there was no sign of it.
The last known location of the Titan was reportedly just above the wreckage of the Titanic, which was confirmed to the research vessel via the final "blip" from the sub.
Rescuers received a boost after a sonar picked up banging sounds which many thought could be those trapped inside the sub, but an expert has offered his thoughts on what those sounds could have been.
Jeff Karson, Professor Emeritus of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Syracuse University, spoke to the Daily Mail where he stated that the US Coast Guard had "wishful thinking" in regard to the banging.
"One possibility is that the sounds bounce around the debris. And so it's a more complicated echo," Professor Karson said. "It's just not bouncing off of one thing. It's bouncing off a bunch of things. And it's like, you know, dropping up a marble into a tin can. It's rattling around and that would confuse the location."
He continued: "The banging, I hear the Coast Guard talk about it. I wonder how much of this is just wishful thinking?"
"Is it really banging or just some unidentified sound? I think that is a more accurate description right now," Professor Kerson went on. "In past investigations, looking for lost objects on the seafloor, I know that all sorts of crazy sounds were discovered. It's just one more thing we don't understand about the ocean, our own planet."
He added that there is "no telling" where the origin of the sound is, or how far away it may be located, before expressing his concerns that the banging may have sent rescuers on a wild goose chase.
Professor Kerson concluded: "But they have to follow up on it. It's the best lead right now. Everything is being done. It's all hands on deck, international vessels, everybody is doing the best they possibly can."
The US Coast Guard led the international rescue mission, which is currently ongoing, though people are fearful for the five men onboard as estimates indicate that they ran out of oxygen at 12:08PM GMT today, per NBC News.
Our thoughts remain with the loved ones of those onboard.
