A wreck of a Japanese cargo ship lost in 1944 has been found off the Philippine coast, the Cultural Heritage Agency said. There were 250 Dutch and a thousand British prisoners of war on board the ship. Some of the Dutch survived the American attack.
The Hofuku Maru sank in 1944 on its way to Taiwan, when the ship was bombed by the Americans. Two direct hits hit the ship, after which it sank within two minutes.
Of the almost 1,300 people on board, more than a thousand died on September 21, 1944. Yet some of the prisoners of war managed to reach the coast, via rafts or by swimming. Among the survivors were 29 Dutch people.
Some of the survivors, including one Dutchman, were boarded on another ship. This ship, the Oryoko Maru 2, was hit by a torpedo two months later. The vessel sank and the Dutchman drowned.
The ship disappeared beneath the waves, but was recently found off the coast of Zambales Island. The wreck was located at a depth of approximately 50 meters. “The wreck is considered a war grave,” the government agency reports. To ensure burial peace, the ship is not exhumed, but left alone.
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