Families of the doomed crew of a French submarine that vanished 51 years ago reacted with joy and relief after the wreckage was finally found. The submarine Minerve vanished with 52 crew members on board as it was conducting exercises in the western Mediterranean with a maritime patrol aircraft on January 27, 1968.
Search crews failed to find the sub immediately after it went missing. However, a renewed search employing new sonar and drone technologies led to Minerve’s discovery. The submarine was discovered almost 45km from the vessel’s home port of Toulon, the country’s Defence Minister Florence Parly said Monday (22nd July).
Parly on Twitter hailed the discovery as “a success, a relief and a technical feat”, adding she was thinking of the families who had “waited for this moment for so long”.
Previous efforts to find the submarine were all unsuccessful. The new search team reportedly re-analysed data from the accident, including tides, to help find the wreckage with the help of new technology.
The final discovery was made by a boat belonging to private US company Ocean Infinity, an unnamed French naval official told the news agency.
The missing submarine was found 45km (30 miles) from Toulon 2,370m (7,800ft) under the surface, the defence ministry said.
We hope this incident would relief the families of the crew who suffer from sorrow for half a century.
