Wreck Of Franklin Expedition Ship Discovered

Explorers have discovered the wreck of one of two ships lost in the 1845 Franklin expedition to Canada's Northwest Passage.

Sir John Franklin and his crew of 128, on board the British ships HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, were trying to find the passage linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans when they became stuck in ice.

The men all died and the ships mysteriously vanished, with tales among Inuit people describing the crew's descent into cannibalism.

Canada says it has sovereignty over the Northwest Passage

Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper said: "This is a day of some very good news and that is that we have found one of the two Franklin ships."

Mr Harper, who has visited the Arctic territory of Nunavut every year since he took office in 2006, described the discovery as a historic moment.

"This is a great historic event. For more than a century, this has been a great Canadian story and mystery," he said.

The crew of HMS Erebus, pictured, were forced to trek overland

"I say it has been the subject of scientists and historians and writers and singers and so, I think we have a really important day in mapping together the history of our country."

Global warming is melting the Arctic ice sheets, allowing ships the possibility of travelling through the Northwest Passage as a shortcut between oceans.

Canada says it has sovereignty over the passage, but the US does not acknowledge the claim and says the channel is in international waters.

The wreck was found at a depth of 36ft in Nunavut, Canada

Parks Canada archaeologists discovered the wreck using a remotely operated underwater vehicle.

Images showed the largely intact wooden ship resting upright on the sea bed 36ft (11m) below the surface.

Ryan Harris, of Parks Canada, said: "It is a very substantial wreck, quite well preserved."

The grave of one of the crew members on the ill-fated expedition

It is unclear if the wreck found is the Erebus or the Terror.

Divers and archaeologists have been trying to locate the ships in the Victoria Strait in Nunavut since 2008.

The search for Franklin started in the late 1840s and traces of 70 crew members have been found - some of whom began trekking overland after the ships became stuck.

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