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Secrets of Sir John Franklin’s Arctic expedition and HMS Erebus to be unlocked

Graphic: Divers are hoping to find out the secrets of the ship that vanished 170 years ago with the captain and all his men after Franklin set out for the Arctic in 1845

More than 170 years after it set off for the Arctic, underwater archaeologists are hoping to discover the secrets of HMS Erebus, the ship British Rear Adm. Sir John Franklin was likely sailing on.

In September last year, experts identified the shipwreck as HMS Erebus, believing at first it was either HMS Erebus or HMS Terror. Both ships were sailing under the command of Franklin.

Franklin and his men were on an unsuccessful search in 1845 for the Northwest Passage, which was a shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific, to "chart a lucrative trade route", the Lincolnshire Echo said earlier this month.

HMS Terror has not been found and it is believed the two vessels were caught in trapped ice when disaster struck.

Six major Parks Canada-led searches had been undertaken to find the lost Franklin Expedition ships since 2008.

Erebus, which experts said at the time was in good condition, was 12 yards below the surface, near King William Island, about 1,200 miles northwest of Toronto.

In October, John Geiger, president of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society who was with the search team, said the team was "over the moon" with the discovery of the bomb vessel.

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"It is in astonishing condition. We're over the moon. Not only did we find one of Franklin's ships, we found Erebus, the ship Franklin himself was on, and we found it in such incredible condition."

Earlier this month, Parks Canada underwater archaeologists and Royal Canadian Navy divers began exploring the wreck and there were reports gold or even human remains could be found.

According to Sam Willis who wrote for the Telegraph in September 2014, "Franklin and his ships were the Flight MH370 of his time."

As explorers are set to uncover Erebus' mystery, many hope the questions about what happened to the crew will also be answered.

"Perhaps now we’ve found a ship, we will also learn what happened to his men. Did they return to the vessels and survive for longer than we had suspected?" Mr Willis asked.