Titanic sub search LIVE updates as 'banging' sounds heard by rescue team

Rescuers searching for a missing deep-sea submersible near the wreckage of the Titanic have heard underwater 'banging noises' in he area.

Teams are now working against the clock to locate the sub, which has five people onboard, as it may only have as little as 24 hours of oxygen left.

On Wednesday morning the US Coastguard said aircraft searching the area had heard underwater noises. They said in a statement: “Canadian P-3 aircraft detected underwater noises in the search area. As a result, ROV (remote operating vehicles) operations were relocated in an attempt to explore the origin of the noises.

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“Those ROV searches have yielded negative results but continue.

“Additionally, the data from the P-3 aircraft has been shared with our US Navy experts for further analysis which will be considered in future search plans.”

The submersible, named Titan, lost communication with tour operators OceanGate Expeditions on Sunday while about 435 miles south of Newfoundland.

The five people on board the 6.7m long vessel are British billionaire adventurer Hamish Harding, businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, OceanGate’s chief executive and founder Stockton Rush and underwater explorer Paul-Henry Nargeolet.

The five people aboard a submersible that went missing during a dive to the wreck of the Titanic have approximately 40 hours of breathable air left, the US Coast Guard has said.

Speaking last night, Captain Jamie Frederick of the US Coast Guard said there were around 40 hours of breathable air left aboard the submersible, named Titan, which lost communication with tour operators on Sunday while about 435 miles south of St John’s, Newfoundland,