A hundred years after the Titanic sank to the bottom of the Atlantic ocean, a photograph that was taken in 2004 of possible human remains that lie within the infamous vessel have been released to the public for the first time, according to a federal official.
A coat and boot are eerily shown in the mud.
“These are not shoes that fell out neatly from somebody’s bag right next to each other,” said James Delgado to the Associated Press in a phone interview. Delgado is the director of maritime heritage at the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration.
The manner is which the clothes are “laid out” makes for a “compelling case.” That’s why it is possible to believe that “someone has come to rest,” he said.
The images were photographed during an expedition which was led by NOAA and the man famed for find the Titanic, Robert Ballard, during 2004.
The New York Times was the first reported about the compelling pictures in their Saturday editions.
Although famous director James Cameron visited the shipwreck 33 times, he explained to the newspaper that he had seen “zero human remains” while exploring the Titanic. “We’ve seen shoes. We’ve seen pairs of shoes, which would strongly suggest there was a body there at one point. But we’ve never seen any human remains.”
However, Delgado still believes human remains lie within the Titanic.
“I as an archaeologist would say those are human remains,” he explained, specifically referring to the way the coat and boot were laid out. “Buried in that sediment are very likely forensic remains of that person.”
When talking about the photographs that were just released to the public he said they “speak to the power of that tragic and powerful scene 2 ½ miles below” and they have a “resilience as an undersea museum, as well as fragility.”
“This is an appropriate time to note the human cost of that event, and the fact that in this special place at the bottom of the sea, evidence of the human cost, in the form of the shattered wreck, the scattered luggage, fittings and other artifacts, and the faint but unmistakable evidence that this is where people came to rest, is present,” he said.
What do you think about the new photographs, could human remains still exist in the Titanic?
