NEW YORK — There may be human remains embedded in the mud of the North Atlantic where the New York-bound Titanic came to rest when it sank 100 years ago Saturday, a federal official says.
The director of maritime heritage at the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration says forensic evidence indicates signs of human remains at the shipwreck site.
James Delgado said Saturday that one 2004 photograph shows a coat and boots in the mud.
"These are not shoes that fell out neatly from somebody's bag right next to each other," Delgado told The Associated Press in a phone interview.
He says the way they are "laid out" makes a "compelling case" that it is where "someone has come to rest."
He released the full image, taken during a 2004 NOAA expedition, this week to coincide with the disaster's centenary. It was previously seen in a cropped version that showed only one boot.
The image, and two others showing pairs of boots resting next to each other, were taken during the expedition led by NOAA and famed Titanic finder Robert Ballard, Fox News reported. They were published in Ballard's book on the expedition.
The luxury liner hit an iceberg on April 14, 1912, and sank 2 1/2 hours later on April 15, 1912.
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