The more than hour-long recording was made public for the first time Wednesday -- never-before-seen footage from the moment of the pivotal discovery of the doomed ship.
Published Feb 16, 2023 3:21 PM EST | Updated Feb 16, 2023 3:29 PM EST
Feb. 16 (UPI) -- Rare video footage has been released showing the Titanic when the ghostly shipwreck was discovered nearly four decades ago at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.
The more than hour-long recording was made public for the first time Wednesday by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, which discovered the location of the doomed ship in 1985 and sent a three-person team in a submersible vessel to film the wreckage the following summer.
Nearly 38 years later, the dive team has released 80 minutes of never-before-seen footage from the moment of the pivotal discovery.
The timing of historic release coincides with the 25th anniversary of the 1997 film Titanic, which chronicled the disaster through dynamic characterizations of those who survived and perished, along with dramatic special effects that punctuated the horror of one of the world's greatest tragedies. It won 11 Oscars, including Best Picture.
More than 1,500 people were killed when the ship hit an iceberg and sank on its maiden voyage in April 1912. The disaster has since captured the imagination of historians and ocean explorers who have sought to piece together an accurate picture of what happened on that fateful night.
The RMS Titanic sank during its maiden voyage on April 2, 1912. The portentous disaster has since captured the imaginations of historians and underwater explorers worldwide. (File Photo courtesy of National Archives)
The July 1986 exploration led by WHOI's Robert Ballard was the first to ever behold the wreckage more than two miles deep and 370 miles off the coast of Newfoundland.
"To finally put those souls to rest was a very nice feeling," Ballard said in an interview with the CTV network at the time.
The first dive -- aboard the underwater vessel Alvin -- included a smaller second submersible called Jason Jr., which was able to capture footage inside the corridors of the sunken vessel, including the captain's quarters, an elegant promenade and a once-beautiful staircase that had been a centerpiece of the ship.
"More than a century after the loss of Titanic, the human stories embodied in the great ship continue to resonate," Titanic director James Cameron said in a statement from WHOI. "Like many, I was transfixed when Alvin and Jason Jr. ventured down to and inside the wreck. By releasing this footage, WHOI is helping tell an important part of a story that spans generations and circles the globe."
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