On Thursday, the U.S. Coast Guard reported that an underwater remote-operated vessel has located a debris field near the Titanic in the search for the Titan, a missing submersible with five people aboard.

The Coast Guard’s Twitter update gave few details, writing: “A debris field was discovered within the search area by an ROV near the Titanic. Experts within the unified command are evaluating the information.” The Coast Guard also provided a link to an upcoming media briefing to discuss the finding at 3 p.m. Eastern, from Boston.

A debris field was discovered within the search area by an ROV near the Titanic. Experts within the unified command are evaluating the information. 1/2

— USCGNortheast (@USCGNortheast) June 22, 2023

Corrected link to the media advisory: https://t.co/tK6Eeh9lY6

— USCGNortheast (@USCGNortheast) June 22, 2023

As of Thursday, the search surpassed the 96-hour mark, the supply of breathable air the submersible had at the time of its departure on Sunday. Although that measure is not exact, as techniques can be implemented by those onboard to extend the supply of oxygen, it has served as a guide outlining urgency in the search efforts.

In hopeful developments on Tuesday and Wednesday, banging noises were captured in regular, half hour intervals by aircraft-deployed sonobuoys. This led to hopes that the unidentified source of the banging was the missing sea capsule, and a sign of potential survival for those trapped inside the vessel.

As previously reported:

Aboard the Titan are Hamish Harding, a 58-year-old British businessman and explorer; British businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son, Suleman Dawood, 19; 77-year-old French explorer Paul-Henry Nargeolet, and OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush.

The international rescue effort is an exceedingly difficult one, with locating the submersible being compared to “finding a needle in a haystack,” and a potential deep-sea recovery would mark the deepest rescue mission ever attempted. Currently, the deepest undersea rescue attempted in history was at 1575 feet, around 10 percent of the depth of the lost submersible. The sunken relics of the Titanic sit over two miles below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean.

Conditions aboard the small expedition vessel would be dark, cramped, near freezing temperatures, and now potentially unbreathable. From the welcomed news of captured “banging” sounds, to the bleak revelation of debris recently found, this situation is unspeakably tragic.

RedState will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates.