The US Coast Guard has issued a major update, reporting that a debris field was discovered in the search area near the Titanic. Experts are said to be “evaluating the information”, and an update will be given at 8pm UK time.
Sky’s international correspondent John Sparks says he thinks the US Coast Guard’s announcement that debris has been found is signficant.
Speaking from Newfoundland, Canada, he says: “I think it’s highly likely to be very significant. It’s been put up by the US Coast Guard a couple of hours before they’re scheduled to hold their news conference.
“They are in charge obviously of this international search and rescue operation and I think they would have thought long and hard about putting out this message.
“If you think about it, the consequences, what people will read into this, they have put it out and they know how the world, the families, the media and various governments are likely to react to this news.
“They’ve said near the Titanic. That’s very interesting – we’re talking about a part of the North Atlantic with strong currents, with big swell.
“The fact that debris has come up near the Titanic, I think that’s significant.”
Sky’s US correspondent James Matthews says that while the details about the debris have not been confirmed, it doesn’t look good.
Speaking from Boston, he says: “Frankly the use of the word debris does not sound good at all. In a situation and at a depth where the water pressure is huge it can do considerable damage to vessels.
“So should the worst have happened and we don’t know if that’s the case yet, and that vessel was broken up somehow by the pressures at that depth then the word debris would absolutely fit that worst case scenario.
“It doesn’t sound good – it reads in a very dark way. The detail presumably will be fleshed out in time and indeed they are still analysing what has been found.
“But the details are yet to be confirmed, we don’t know what that debris is – that will be confirmed in due course but it doesn’t look good.”
