The wreck was found more than 4,000 meters deep in the South China Sea, and more than 1,000 men, prisoners of war and civilians from several countries, are believed to have died in the tragedy.
The minister said that “the wreckage of the Montevideo Maru” was discovered northwest of the Philippine island of Luzon.
The long-awaited revelation of the ship’s fate comes ahead of Anzac Day commemorations on April 25, a major day in Australia and New Zealand to commemorate the deaths of their soldiers in all wars.
“This brings an end to one of the most tragic chapters in Australia’s maritime history,” the Australian Defense Minister said in a video message.
The tragedy of the soldiers
• The accident, the worst maritime disaster in Australian history, occurred while the ship was en route from what is now Papua New Guinea to Hainan, China.
• The unmarked ship was carrying prisoners of war and has been missing since its sinking off the coast of the Philippines in July 1942.
• After that it became known that it was sunk by an American submarine, without knowing that it was transporting captured soldiers.
#bottom #sea #Australia #closes #page #tragedy #ancient #ship