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Fresh clues from Titanic wreckage deep down

FALMOUTH: The discovery of two large pieces of the Titanic's hull on the ocean floor indicates that the fabled luxury liner sank faster than previously thought. The hull pieces were a crucial part of the ship's structure and make up a bottom section of the vessel that was missing when the wreck was first located in 1985, researchers said on Monday.

After the bottom section of the hull broke free, the bow and stern split, said Roger Long, a naval architect who analysed the find. The stern, which was still buoyant and full of people, possibly plunged toward the ocean floor about five minutes later. "It would have been immediately terrifying," he said.

Previous researchers believed the ship broke in two major pieces, the bow and stern. This was how the sinking was depicted in the 1997 film version of the catastrophe.

AP

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