A HONG KONG underwater search team has decided to explore the wreckage of a Japanese vessel carrying prisoners of war (POW) torpedoed and sunk in the East China Sea during World War II.

The non-governmental team, which includes several Hong Kong celebrities, was sponsored by the Hong Kong Underwater Association Limited (HKUA) and will try to find the site of the ship wreckage Thursday. The team arrived at Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province on Wednesday (August 18th).

"We aim to identify the exact location of the ship, get details of the vessel and screen the wreckage," said Curly F.T. Wong, a diving instructor of the team.

Named "Lisbon Maru" and armed fore and aft, the ship was a large cargo vessel with more than 1,800 British POWs on board. It was torpedoed by an American submarine and sank in the seawaters near the Dongji Islands of Zhoushan on Oct. 2, 1942.

Nearly 200 Chinese fishermen living on the Dongji Islands rescued 384 British prisoners during the shipwreck.

This is not the first time for the team to come to Zhoushan, as it has planned to try and find the Lisbon Maru twice in the last three months. The first trial was made in June but failed due to bad weather and inadequate equipment. The second was delayed by the savage Typhoon Matsa.

Editor: Wing