By the CBC
A Canadian icebreaker carrying sonar gear and submersibles is surveying the waters of the Northwest Passage looking for the ships from the long lost John Franklin expedition. Inuit knowledge suggests that Franklin’s vessels the Erebus and Terror sank on the west side of King William Island. The search for Franklin is one of the most renowned in history. Bodies of crew members were eventually found, but no sign of the vessels, which were trapped in the ice in 1846. Marc-Andre Bernier is the chief of the underwater archeology service with Parks Canada, which has been searching for some time. He’s hopeful the new technology will help.
“We’re all pretty excited about the whole thing. And when you work on the project and prepare for it for so long. It seems that the start date will never come, but we’re all excited it’s finally here.”
They are spending the week combing about 180 square kilometres of ocean on the west side of King William Island.
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