Sunken WWII 'ghost' ships re-surface after tremors in Japan

Footage from a research plane shows the "ghost" ships on the beach on Iwo Jima

Volcanic tremors in Japan have caused more than 20 ships to re-surface after sinking into the sea during World War Two (WWII).

Footage filmed from a news helicopter shows the ships washed up on the island of Iwo Jima, which is around 1,200 kilometres (750 miles) from Tokyo, in Japan.

Around 24 "ghost ships" (which means a ship with no crew on it) have been discovered so far, after tremors from the Mount Suribachi volcano caused the seabed to rise.

Volcanic experts think these tremors might mean that the Mount Suribachi volcano could erupt on Iwo Jima soon.

A photo of the US Navy and Coast Guard arriving on the shores of Iwo Jima in 1945.

The group of ships were sunk in 1945 towards the end of WWII during fierce fighting called the 'Battle of Iwo Jima'.

Around 70,000 US Marines fought against 18,000 Japanese soldiers for a total of 36 days, and many thousands of soldiers on both sides were killed or injured in the battle.

Iwo Jima is a volcanic island which makes up part of the Bonin Islands, a group of around 30 tropical islands in the Pacific Ocean.

The Bonin islands are near to a tectonic plate, which means that they often experience earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

There has been quite a bit of volcanic activity in Japan recently. Earlier this month a new volcanic island was created by an underwater volcano near to Iwo Jima, and a volcano on Japan's southern island of Kyushu, erupted last week.

Japan experiences a lot of volcanic eruptions each year, with over 100 active volcanos in the country.