A team of dedicated researchers were stunned after they recently came face-to-face with a ship that hadn’t been seen in 168 years.
The discovery of the steamship Le Lyonnais was recently announced by Atlantic Wreck Salvage (AWS). AWS, which owns and operates the vessel D/V Tenacious, found the ship off the coast of southeastern Massachusetts.
The ship was built in 1855 and only sailed for a year before sinking on its first return voyage to Le Havre, France, on November 2, 1856. The vessel collided with a ship called the Adriatic, which was scuffed during the collision and sailed away from the scene.
Le Lyonnais was left with a small hole that eventually sank the ship days later. Out of the ship’s 132 passengers and crew, 114 people died – and the few people who survived the wreck were stuck in a lifeboat for a week.
Researchers recently discovered the remains of the Le Lyonnais shipwreck, which dates back to 1856. (Andrew Donn / Atlantic Wreck Salvage)
Speaking to Fox News Digital, AWS’s Jennifer Sellitti said that it was “difficult to explain” how she felt when her team found the ship. She and her partner Joe Mazraani had been searching for the vessel for eight years.
“For the team, the feeling was a mixture of relief and joy, but there was also a sense of ‘What’s next?’” she explained. “For me, personally, I have spent so long trying to learn and tell the stories of the people who sailed aboard Le Lyonnais that finding her felt like closure – like a way to help those who died so long ago to finally rest in peace.”
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