The sinking of the Montevideo Maru was Australia's worst-ever maritime disaster, killing an estimated 979 Australian citizens, including at least 850 troops.
Deep-sea explorers said Saturday they had located the wreck of a World War II Japanese transport ship, the Montevideo Maru, which was torpedoed off the Philippines, killing nearly 1,000 Australians aboard.
Civilians from 13 other countries were also aboard, the foundation said, bringing the total number of prisoners killed to about 1,060. "Among the 1,060 prisoners on board were 850 Australian service members –- their lives cut short," he said on social media.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.
"We think that she was struck by two torpedoes. The first one was what caused her to sink, the second one actually blew off a part of the accommodation."The wreckage will remain undisturbed on the sea floor, where it lies at a greater depth than the Titanic, out of respect for the families of those who perished, the foundation said. No artefacts or human remains are to be removed.
Australia's Chief of Army Lieutenant General Simon Stuart said finding the wreck had ended 81 years of uncertainty for the loved ones of those lost.
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