Sounds like something has gone south in the steering gear box. This is the first time I've ever heard of a failure of this sort. They might blow all of the power steering fluid out through a blown seal, but they rarely fail like this.

Don't know if the car has a isolation disc in the steering shaft where it comes from the steering wheel - possibly that has failed.

Where do you hear the bad noises coming from? Inside the car or under the hood.