Research on Virago shipwreck off Alderney to identify crew

Research is to be carried into a Channel Islands shipwreck to identify all 26 of its crew and alert their families, a maritime charity says.

The SS Virago, which disappeared 140 years ago, was discovered about two miles (3.2km) off Alderney in 2009 but only recently identified.

The Henry Euler Memorial Trust said a "prime objective" was to find out who was on board.

It added that islanders "will want to open their hearts" to any descendants.

The 282ft (86m) steamship was sailing from Hull to the port of Odessa, then part of the Russian Empire, in June 1882 but never made it out of the English Channel.

Divers said it was thought the vessel struck a reef off Alderney or Alderney itself.

The Yeddo was a sister ship to the Virago in the Wilson Line that was the largest privately owned steamship fleet in the world

One body was washed ashore near Cherbourg, France, and four lifeboats were found, two off Dieppe, France, and two north of Alderney.

The trust, a charity dedicated to Alderney's maritime heritage, had presentations at the weekend about the story of the vessel, its sinking and its identification.

The ship was identified after dives on it in the summer in waters 150ft (45m) deep.

The trust said it was assuring people that it would be supporting the diving team "in their ongoing research, with the prime objective of identifying all 26 crew members of the Virago who so tragically lost their lives".

It added: "Alderney now owns this wreck, and its people, knowing only too well the dangers of the waters that lie around their beautiful island, will want to open their hearts to the descendants of those families who lost loved ones."

The Virago is still listed as missing on Lloyd's Register of Ships - a marine classification society - which said the vessel was built in Hull in 1871.

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