Overview

• Two Korean divers contracted by a local remembrance group recovered three black, rod-like items from the main tunnel during the group’s sixth dive.
• The objects measure roughly 42 centimeters, 29 centimeters and 23 centimeters and were retrieved near a T‑junction about 43 meters deep.
• Multiple boot-like shoes were observed close to the discovery site, with retrieval under consideration during the next day’s work.
• The items were handed to Yamaguchi Prefectural Police, who will conduct forensic examinations.
• The group located the sealed entrance in September 2024 and has funded intermittent dives via crowdfunding after national authorities called official recovery difficult; the 1942 disaster killed 183 workers, including 136 from the Korean Peninsula.