Divers give guided live video tour of wreckage of Erebus

TORONTO – A live Arctic dive to a piece of Canadian history that lies beneath the ice in Nunavut’s Queen Maud Gulf was on exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum on Thursday.

A release from Parks Canada says the “live dive event” at the museum presented a close-up tour of the wreckage of HMS Erebus, the ship on which Sir John Franklin sailed in search of the Northwest Passage.

Parks Canada said dives by underwater archeologists and Royal Canadian Navy divers “thrilled” Grade 7 geography students on hand from University of Toronto Schools, who got to see live video of the guided tour of the underwater site.

Parks Canada said the class was taking part in an underwater archaeology program at the museum.

The HMS Erebus was one of two ships that travelled to Canada from England in 1845 in search of the Northwest passage.

The fate of the ships remained a mystery for decades until the wreckage of Erebus was discovered last September.

“Connecting Canada’s youth to our Arctic past will ensure the incredible history of the North continues to be celebrated and passed on to future generations,” Treasury Board President Tony Clement said in the Parks Canada release. Clement was one of the hosts of the “live-dive event.”