A “debris field” has been discovered in the search for OceanGate’s missing submarine. However, it is expected that the passengers either have, or are about to, run out of “breathable air.”

On Sunday, the race began to rescue five passengers aboard the OceanGate Titan submarine that was headed to view the Titanic shipwreck.

The Titan sub, which disappeared just one hour and 45 minutes into its trip, has not left behind any clues as to what went wrong and caused them to lose communication with its transportation ship.

The sub reportedly had only four days of reserve oxygen on board, as it was anticipated to only make up to an 8-hour dive. At 7:08 a.m. Thursday morning, the sub officially ran out of its 96-hour supply.

In a statement, Guillermo Söhnlein, co-founder of OceanGate Expeditions, remained optimistic that the sub will be recovered and the passengers will still be alive.

“Today will be a critical day in this search and rescue mission, as the sub’s life support supplies are starting to run low,” said Söhnlein.

“I’m certain that Stockton and the rest of the crew realized days ago that the best they can do to ensure their rescue us to extend the limits of those supplies by relaxing as much as possible,” added Söhnlein. “I firmly believe that the time window available for their rescue is longer than most people think.”

As hope is beginning to run out that the passengers will be found alive, the Coast Guard reported at 3 p.m. on Thursday that an underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV) has found a “debris field” on the Atlantic Ocean floor.

“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 posted on Twitter.

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