Russian warship found off the South Korean island with gold

Ulleungdo divers, an island of South Korea, found the Dmitrii Donskoi – which sank in battle in 1905 – It is thought that it still contains 5500 boxes of ingots and pieces weighing 200,000 kg

The Imperial Navy cruiser has was found at more than 420 meters deep, about 1.6km from the South Korean coast, according to ] The sun.

It is understood that the ship was deliberately sunk during the war so that the Japanese did not seize her valuables.

A team of experts from South Korea, Great Britain and Canada discovered the ship.

The pictures show significant damage to the ship, which was caused during an encounter with Japanese warships in May 1905.

Shinil Group, a Seoul-based maritime rescue company, has the exact site of the legendary wreck for years

Half of the treasures found aboard the ship would be handed over to the Russian government and would be used on projects such as a railway to connect to the South Korea via North Korea. ] Ten percent of the rest will be invested in tourism projects on the island of Ulleungdo, including a museum dedicated to the ship

However, Russian experts today demanded that all the precious treasure be returned to the Kremlin.

Yaroslav Livanskiy, an official of the Russian public movement to commemorate those who died defending the homeland, said that this find should be "given to us as a gesture of good will."

Images showing guns and bridge guns encrusted with marine vegetation. the anchor and the wheel of the ship

The divers were finally able to positively identify the ship when spotlights on one of the submersibles chose the name in Cyrillic characters on her stern. The ship was severely damaged by bombing, with its stern almost broken, and yet the deck and sides of the ship are well preserved, "said the company.

Launched in August 1883, the Dmitrii Donskoy was designed to The ship spent most of its career in the Mediterranean but was ordered to join the Russian Pacific squadron after the enemy fleet destroyed the majority of Russian naval power at the beginning of the war. The Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05

The Dmitrii Donskoi managed to escape the attacking force, but was later intercepted by Captain Ivan Lebedev steaming for the Russian port of Vladivostok.

About 60 591 crew members were killed, 120 wounded before Captain Lebedev anchored the island of Ulleungdo and ordered his men to disembark.

The following morning, May 29, 1905, the ship was sab ordé and the crew was taken prisoner by Japanese landings. 9003] There are reports that the ship was carrying the funds that the Russian fleet had to pay for the fuel, the shipping costs and the crews of its ships and that it was scuttled so that the Japanese did not grasp the price

in The Sun and has been republished with permission.