JAKARTA - 81 years ago, Australia's worst maritime disaster occurred. When the Japanese transport ship World War II, Montevideo Maru, which brought nearly 1,000 Australians, was destroyed after being torqued off the coast of the Philippines,
And now, Montevideo Maru was discovered by explorers, Saturday, April 22, reported by Channel News Asia.
The ship sank on July 1, 1942, by an unconscious US submarine that turned out to be Montevideo Maru carrying prisoners of war. The ship was found at a depth of more than 4 km, the maritime archaeological group Silentworld Foundation said.
The sinking of Maru's Montevideo was Australia's worst maritime disaster, killing about 979 Australians including at least 850 soldiers.
Civilians from 13 other countries also participated, the foundation said, bringing the total number of prisoners killed to around 1,060 people.
They have been arrested several months earlier by Japanese troops in the collapse of the coastal city of Rabaul in Papua New Guinea.
"Finally, a resting place for the missing souls from Montevideo Maru has been found," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on social media.
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"We hope today's news brings comfort to loved ones who have been on guard for a long time."
Maru's Montevideo split into two parts, with the bow and stern separated about 500 meters on the seabed, he said.
"We thought he was hit by two torpedoes. The first one caused him to sink, the second one really blew up some accommodation."
The debris will remain unperturbed on the ocean floor, where it is more deeply located than fire, in honor of their families who died, the foundation said. No human artifacts or remains must be removed.
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