Canada Finds One of Two British Explorer Ships that Vanished in the Arctic More than 160 Years Ago

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  Sir John Franklin

  The HMS Erebus and HMS Terror were carrying British Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin and 128 hand-picked officers when they vanished in the late 1840s - perhaps after they were abandoned when they became locked in ice

• On Sunday, Parks Canada used a remote underwater vehicle to find a wreckage in the Victoria Strait near King William Island, Nunavut - but officials do not yet know which ship it is

• Canada announced it would start searching for the wreckages in 2008 in a bid to assert its sovereignty over the Northwest Passage - the same passage the ships had been trying to find

   

  One of two British explorer ships that vanished in the Arctic more 160 years ago has been found, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced on Tuesday.

  The HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, which were led by British Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin and were carrying 128 hand-picked officers, were last seen in the late 1840s as they searched for the fabled Northwest Passage.
  
  In 2008, Canada announced it would search for the ships in a bid to assert its sovereignty over the passage, which was found during searches for the missing ships.
  The wreckage was confirmed by Parks Canada on Sunday using a remote underwater vehicle in the Victoria Strait near...(Click for more)