Timeline: When the Titanic sub vanished, the race to find it and its eventual demise

TUESDAY

MORNING – The family of Pakistani-born businessman Shahzada Dawood confirm he is aboard with his 19-year-old son Suleman. They ask for prayers for their safety.

2.50pm GMT (10.50pm, Singapore time) – France says it will help with search by deploying Atalante, a ship equipped with a deep-sea diving vessel and managed by the Ifremer ocean research institute.

DURING THE DAY – Sounds detected over several hours by Canadian Lockheed P-3 Orion aircraft, equipped with gear to trace submarines. The US Coast Guard – which announces this on Wednesday – does not give a precise timing.

CNN and Rolling Stone magazine reports Canadian aircraft detected banging sounds at 30-minute intervals. Rolling Stone says sonar picks up more banging four hours later. CNN also reports later sounds but does not describe them as banging.

Harding’s friend, Jannicke Mikkelsen, says: “And as it stands right now, it would be a miracle if they are recovered alive.”

WEDNESDAY

DURING THE DAY – US Coast Guard, US Navy, Canadian Coast Guard and OceanGate Expeditions establish a unified command to handle the search.

6am GMT (2pm, Singapore time) – US Coast Guard announces Canadian P-3 aircraft detected underwater noises. It says remotely operated vehicle (ROV) searches are directed to the area of the sounds and the data are also sent to US Navy experts for analysis.

LATE ON WEDNESDAY – French research ship, equipped with a deep-sea diving vessel, expected to arrive at search area.

THURSDAY

10am GMT (6pm, Singapore time) – Rough deadline for when the air in the submersible will run out, based on the US Coast Guard’s estimate. The vessel has 96 hours of air supply from the time it is sealed, according to its specifications. This depends on the vessel being intact and other factors, such as whether the sub still has power in the icy depths.

6pm GMT (2am, Singapore time) – A debris field that was found near the wreckage of the Titanic in the North Atlantic contains the pieces of the Titan submersible, officials said.

7pm GMT (3am, Singapore time) – The debris was consistent with a catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber and an implosion, the US Coast Guard said. There were no survivors.