Japan: World War II ghost ships resurface following underwater seismic activity

As many as 24 'ghost ships' have resurfaced from the Pacific Ocean as a result of the underwater seismic activity. The sunken warships from World War II have risen nearly 800 miles from Tokyo, reported Mirror. The seismic activity has been caused due to underwater volcano, known as Fukutoku-Okanoba.

World War II sunken ships rise 

As per LiveScience report, the Fukutoku-Okanoba volcano has been erupting underwater since August. The underwater seismic activity in a Fukutoku-Okanoba volcano led to the creation of a new small C-shaped island. The C-shaped island was initially 1 kilometre in diameter, however, after it's emergence, the island has now started sinking in, reported Mirror. The small C-shaped island is now approximately one-third of its original size. The C-shaped island was formed due to hardened lava formed with pumice and volcanic ash, Mirror cited the Japanese Coast Guard.

Besides the small island, the 24 ships sank during the battle of Iwo Jima in 1945 have re-emerged following an underwater seismic activity. A dozen sunken ships that have resurfaced from the bottom of the sea are reportedly the Japanese ships that were captured by the United States Navy in the aftermath of the battle of Iwo Jima. reported Mirror. The ships were used to form a port as the Iwo Jima had no port, Mirror cited the US National Archives.

During the battle, 70,000 United States Marines fought against around 20,000 Japanese soldiers. During the battle, the soldiers were hiding out in bunkers within the island's volcanic rocks. In the Battle of Iwo Jima, nearly 20,000 marines were injured and around 7000 had died. Setsuya Nakada, director of the government's Volcano Research Promotion Centre has revealed that the seismic activity is not over yet, reported Mirror. As per the report, the sunken warships had resurfaced about 35 years back due to seismic activity.

Image: PTI/RepresentativeImage