'Debris field' found near Titanic wreck in search for missing submersible

The US Coast Guard said on Thursday that an underwater vessel has located a debris field near the Titanic in the search for a missing submersible with five people aboard, a potential breakthrough in the around-the-clock effort.

The search for the missing submersible on an expedition to view the wreckage of the Titanic passed the critical 96-hour mark Thursday when breathable air could have run out, a grim moment in the intense effort to save the five people aboard.

The Titan submersible was estimated to have about a four-day supply of breathable air when it launched Sunday morning in the North Atlantic - but experts have emphasised that was an imprecise approximation to begin with and could be extended if passengers have taken measures to conserve breathable air. And it's not known if they survived since the sub's disappearance.