Solomons quake raised WWII boat
The explosives-laden wreck of a World War II torpedo boat has risen from the Pacific Ocean off the Solomon Islands, pushed above the water by a powerful earthquake, an official said Friday.
The boat was exposed when reefs rose 10 feet above sea level during a magnitude 8.1 quake that caused a tsunami early this month, killing 52 people, said Jay Waura of the Solomons’ National Disaster Management Office.
The Solomons’ main island, Guadalcanal, was the scene of fierce fighting during World War II, and its coastline is littered with wrecks.
“My team members believe that this boat could have been one of those U.S. torpedo boats,” Waura told the New Zealand Press Assn.
Only the boat’s hull with its cargo of explosives remained intact, he said.
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