the standard the sta the standard the sta

The ship -- sunk on July 1, 1942, by a US submarine unaware it was carrying POWs -- was found at a depth of more than four kilometers (2.5 miles), said the maritime archaeology group Silentworld Foundation, which organized the mission with the Dutch deep-sea survey firm Fugro.

The sinking of the Montevideo Maru was Australia’s worst-ever maritime disaster, killing an estimated 979 Australian citizens, including at least 850 troopers.

After five years of planning, explorers began searching for the wreck on April 6 in the South China Sea, northwest of the Philippines’ main island of Luzon.

They made a positive sighting just 12 days later using high-tech equipment, including an autonomous underwater vehicle equipped with sonar.

Civilians from 13 other countries were also aboard, the foundation said, bringing the total number of prisoners killed to about 1,060.

They had been captured a few months earlier by Japanese forces in the fall of the coastal township of Rabaul in Papua New Guinea.

“At long last, the resting place of the lost souls of the Montevideo Maru has been found,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.

“Among the 1,060 prisoners on board were 850 Australian service members –- their lives cut short,” he said on social media.

“We hope today’s news brings a measure of comfort to loved ones who have kept a long vigil.” AFP

EL NIÑO PRESSER. Dr. Sevillo David Jr. executive director of the National Water Resources Board discusses measures to cushion the impact of the anticipated El Niño phenomenon during a news forum in Quezon Cit., with Manila Standard columnist Butch Hilario as moderator. Robert Gines