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Russian warship Dimitrii Donskoi packed with gold worth $130 billion discovered

A Russian warship believed to be packed with billions in gold has been found off the South Korean coast, according to salvagers.

The Dimitrii Donskoi sank 113 years ago after the crew scuttled the ship following Japan’s victory in the Battle of Tsushima during the Russo-Japanese War.

Now the Shinil Group claim they have found the vessel near Ullleungdo island, which is east of Soth Korea.

The ship set sail in 1885 and was in the Mediterranean and the Baltic before heading to the Pacific.

The South Korean salvage team believe it to still contain 200 tons of gold bullion and coins worth 150 trillion won ($130 billion).

The Dimitrii Donskoi sank 113 years ago after the crew scuttled the ship following Japan’s victory in the Battle of Tsushima during the Russo-Japanese War (Image: Hulton Archive)
While the cruiser wasn’t badly damaged in the Battle of Tsushima, the ship fell behind its fleet and was attacked by the Japanese.

The crew decided to scuttle the ship and there have been rumours about the treasure on board ever since.

Some say the ship was carrying gold for the Russian Pacific Fleet which was going to be used to pay crew salaries and docking fees.

Many have said the gold would be worth billions if found today but academics are doubtful a warship would have been used to carry such precious cargo.

Kirill Kolesnichenko, a professor of social sciences at Russia’s Far Eastern Federal University, told Russian news site RIA Novosti that it would have been too dangerous to keep all the money on one ship.-Mirror

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