Debris site yields new clues about Titanic

Explorers have found a previously unknown site scattered with artifacts from the Titanic that could shed new light on the final moments of the world's most famous ocean liner.

"We found a new debris field about 900 metres south of the stern, which supports my long-standing belief that the Titanic began to break apart and sink further south than where she currently sits," expedition leader G. Michael Harris said on Tuesday.

Harris, whose grandfather led the first wave of expeditions in the early 1980s, made the dive with his 13-year-old son through freezing waters in a three-man submersible.

The Orlando-based team said it had discovered personal artifacts strewn across the seabed floor that included Gladstone bags, women's shoes and White Star Line china.

It also said it had found previously unseen damaged pieces of the ship's hull that are said to support Harris' theory that the Titanic rode up onto the iceberg before sinking.

Harris, who returned with hundreds of hours of film footage, believes the force of the grounding damaged the plates on the underbelly of the liner causing water to poor in.

The Titanic sank off Canada on her maiden voyage on the night of April 14, 1912, with the loss of over 1 500 passengers and crew. Theories about why and how she sank have abounded ever since.

Source: www.iol.co.za