Missing Titanic sub search continues as banging sounds heard

(CNN) -- A massive search operation is underway to find a submersible with five people on board that went missing on a trip to view the wreckage of the Titanic.

The Titanic wreckage sits at the bottom of the ocean nearly 13,000 feet below the surface southeast of Newfoundland, Canada.

US Coast Guard First District Commander Rear Adm. John Mauger expanded upon the search efforts for the missing Titanic submersible after banging noises were detected by sonobuoys in the ocean.

"We don’t know the source of that noise, but we’ve shared that information with Navy experts to classify it," he told "CBS This Morning."

In the meantime, the international unified command involved the search effort has "reprioritized the two remote operated vehicles that we have searching in the water and the one surface vessel that has sonar capability on the surface of the water in the area of those noises to see if we can locate the source of those noises and locate the people on the submersible," Mauger said.

Asked how common it was to pick up noises, the rear admiral said it’s an "incredibly complex site."

"There is a lot of metal and different objects in the water around this site," he said, describing the area of the Titanic wreckage. "That’s why it’s so important that we’ve engaged experts from the Navy that understand the science behind noise and can classify or give us better information about what the source of that noise may be."

Asked how long officials will hold out hope on finding the submersible, Mauger said, "As long as there’s an opportunity for survival, we will continue to work with this broad unified command to bring every resource to bear on the search."

Over the next 24 hours, he said the Coast Guard will continue to bring in additional vessels, remote-operated vehicles and aircraft to scour the area.