国产热热热精品,亚洲视频久久】日韩,三级婷婷在线久久,99人妻精品视频,精品九热人人肉肉在线,AV东京热一区二区,91po在线视频观看,久久激情宗合,青青草黄色手机视频

World / Europe

Silver coins worth $50 million recovered from WWII wreck at record depth

(Agencies) Updated: 2015-04-17 09:29

Silver coins worth $50 million recovered from WWII wreck at record depth

The 100 tons of silver coins was retrieved from the wreck of SS City of Cairo sunk by a German submarine in 1942. [Photo/CRI]

JOHANNESBURG - Marine salvage experts have recovered $50 million in silver coins from a ship sunk by a German submarine in 1942 as it was transporting the cash from India to London to help finance Britain's efforts in World War II.

Mauritius-based Deep Ocean Search, the firm in charge of the salvage 700 km (400 miles) outh of the South Atlantic island of St. Helena, said the recovery from the wreck of the SS City of Cairo, lying at a depth of 5,150 meters, was a world record.

"The ship was broken in two and buried deep in the sea-floor silt. Parts of the ship had meters of mud heaped upon it," Deep Ocean Search said on its website. "Operating at this depth caused serious technical difficulties which were new to us."

A mixed cargo and passenger ship, City of Cairo was sailing from Mumbai to Britain via Cape Town and Recife in Brazil in late 1942, carrying 296 passengers and 100 tons of silver coins belonging to the British Treasury.

It was spotted by a German U-boat in the South Atlantic and sank after being hit in quick succession by two torpedoes.

In all, 192 people of those on board survived in life-boats until they were picked up by passing ships and dropped off either in St. Helena or Cape Town in South Africa.

Deep Ocean Search started looking for the wreck in 2011, and eventually found it lying on an underwater slope in the foothills of the mid-Atlantic Ridge.

Under a contract with Britain's Department of Transport, the company recovered "several tens of tons" of silver coins, still sitting in hessian sacks, from the wreck. It also managed to lift the propeller from one of the torpedoes.

The operation was completed in 2013 but kept under wraps until this year.

After Deep Ocean had taken its cut under international marine salvage rules, the remainder of the treasure was returned to its original owner - Britain's Treasury, a spokesman confirmed.

 

Trudeau visits Sina Weibo
May gets little gasp as EU extends deadline for sufficient progress in Brexit talks
Ethiopian FM urges strengthened Ethiopia-China ties
Yemen's ex-president Saleh, relatives killed by Houthis
Most Popular
Hot Topics

...
通海县| 固原市| 盐山县| 宁武县| 吉林省| 阜新| 汾阳市| 维西| 紫阳县| 江安县| 高唐县| 建昌县| 怀安县| 平安县| 溆浦县| 彰武县| 陕西省| 淮阳县| 沧州市| 贵州省| 铁力市| 青龙| 淄博市| 台中市| 安陆市| 忻州市| 英德市| 广灵县| 赫章县| 文水县| 保康县| 元朗区| 广德县| 璧山县| 邯郸市| 获嘉县| 陕西省| 辛集市| 常熟市| 竹溪县| 象州县|