An international group working to solve the mystery of the disappearance of Amelia Earhart is claiming they may have found traces of the aviator's Lockheed Electra.
The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) say they have detected a submerged debris field off Nikumaroro Island in Kiribati, which displays characteristics consistent with man-made objects.
In a statement released on their website, TIGHAR said:
"A review of high-definition underwater video footage taken during the recently-completed Niku VII expedition has revealed a scattering of man-made objects on the reef slope off the west end of Nikumaroro.
"The newly discovered debris field is in deep water offshore the location where an object thought to be Lockheed Electra landing gear appears in a photo taken three months after Amelia Earhart disappeared. Items in the debris field appear to be consistent with the object in the 1937 photo."
Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan disappeared in July 1937 on a flight from Lae, PNG to Howland Island in the South Pacific. Several theories have been put forward over the years, but very little substantial trace of the two or their aircraft has ever been found. Nikumaroro (then known as Gardner Island) is 400 km south-east of Howland Island.