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October 6, 2015

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Remains of lost sailors found in old wreck

ARCHEOLOGISTS have discovered the remains of seven seamen in a warship sunk more than a century ago during the Sino-Japanese War.

“We believe the remains were officers and soldiers aboard the warship,” said Zhou Chunshui, who is leading the exploration mission organized by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage.

The “Zhiyuan” warship, which has a 50-meter-long hull, is located about 10 nautical miles southwest of the port of Dandong in northeast China’s Liaoning Province.

More than 100 relics, including ship parts and the sailors’ belongings have also been recovered, Zhou said.

“We will use the finds to learn more about what life at sea were like more than a century ago,” he said.

Code-named “Dandong No. 1,” the 1,600-ton vessel was one of the four warships of the Qing Dynasty (1616-1911) imperial navy — also known as the Beiyang Fleet — which was defeated in 1894 by the Japanese navy in the Battle of Yellow Sea.

A total of 252 officers and soldiers were aboard, but just seven survived.

The four ships were China’s most sophisticated vessels at that time.

Zhou said further investigation is needed to decide whether to lift the ship out of the water.

The ship’s captain Deng Shichang is known as a patriot after refusing to abandon his vessel after it was damaged.


 

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