A pair of sunken ships dating back to the age of sail have been discovered off the coast of Colombia near another 300-year-old galleon thought to hold billions of dollars in treasure.
The sunken vessels were found during an underwater sweep of the area around the famous San Jose galleon by the Colombian navy using a remotely operated underwater vehicle.
The San Jose was sunk by an English fleet on June 8th, 1708 in the Caribbean Sea when it was on its way to Cartagena carrying, according to historical documents, 11 million gold and silver pieces of eight that the vessel had loaded in Portobelo, Panama.
The sunken treasure has been claimed by Colombia, Bolivia and others.
Colombian President Iván Duque told the media:
“The equipment that our army has acquired and the level of precision have kept this treasure intact, but at the same time, we will be able to protect it for later extraction.”
Wile Colombian Admiral Gabriel Alfonso Pérez, head of the country’s navy, said:
“During the previous years, we made four expeditions, which allowed us from the surface to verify that the area where the galleon San José is located had not been touched by human intervention.”
(Featured image credit: Colombian Navy)
