Debris site throws up new clues to Titanic disaster

LONDON - Explorers have found a previously unknown site scattered with artefacts from the Titanic that could shed new light on the final moments of the world's most famous ocean liner.

"We found a new debris field about 900M south of the stern, which supports my long-standing belief that the Titanic began to break apart and sink further south than where she currently sits," expedition leader G. Michael Harris said on Tuesday.

Harris, whose grandfather led the first wave of expeditions in the early 1980s, made the 2-1/2 mile dive with his 13-year-old son through freezing waters in a three-man submersible.

The Orlando-based team said it had discovered personal artefacts strewn across the seabed floor that included Gladstone bags, women's shoes and White Star Line china.

It also said it had found previously unseen damaged pieces of the ship's hull that are said to support Harris' theory that the Titanic rode up on to the iceberg before sinking.

Harris, who returned with hundreds of hours of film footage, believes the force of the grounding damaged the plates on the underbelly of the liner causing water to pour in.

The Titanic sank off Canada on her maiden voyage on the night of April 14, 1912, with the loss of over 1500 passengers and crew. Theories about why and how she sank have abounded ever since.

- REUTERS