appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

liveArticle

appConfig

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sectionsV2

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

json

Scientists have located the wreckage of an immigrant steamship which sank in 1901 near the site of what is now the Golden Gate Bridge, killing 128 people, including many Chinese migrants.
The ship, named the City of Rio de Janeiro, was discovered with the help of a remote submersible in 87 metres of water, about 1km from San Francisco, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Experts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have now released 3D and sonar images of the wreckage.
The ship was carrying 210 passengers when it sunk on rocks in heavy fog. It went down in 10 minutes, with many passengers trapped in their berths below. Their bodies were never recovered.
The dead included Chinese and Japanese immigrants, as well as the United States Consul-General in Hong Kong, who was returning to the US on leave with his wife and children. The entire family died in the tragedy.
"Many of these people were about to start a new life in a new country," said Robert Schwemmer, maritime heritage coordinator for the Office of National Maritime Sanctuaries.
"They were only perhaps an hour away from the dock in San Francisco. That is something to think about."
Schwemmer said the City of Rio de Janeiro disaster is often called the Bay Area's "Titanic."
The location of the wreckage was a mystery until an expedition that included Schwemmer and James Delgado, a maritime historian, made the discovery last month. The ship is mostly buried in mud.
City of Rio de Janeiro, launched in 1878, joined the fleet of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, carrying passengers and freight to and from San Francisco, Honolulu, Yokohama, Japan and Hong Kong as America expanded into the Far East and Pacific after the Civil War.
Most immigrants to the US who came from the Far East in the 19th and early 20th centuries to start a new life arrived on ships like City of Rio de Janeiro. Delgado said the discovery was "like turning on the light in a dark room. It's great. That's why we do what we do."
The same research team has also completed the first detailed map of SS City of Chester, which was rediscovered late last year in the vicinity of City of Rio. This steamship sank in the 19th century after a collision with a vessel arriving from Hong Kong.


San Francisco’s deadliest shipwreck dubbed ‘Titanic of the Golden Gate’ discovered

The City of Rio de Janeiro was launched in 1878 and carried passengers and freight between San Francisco and Asia, including Hong Kong.

News

World