Human remains at Titanic shipwreck site – official

This photo provided by the Institute for Exploration, Center for Archaeological Oceanography/University of Rhode Island/NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration, shows the remains of a coat and boots, articulated in the mud on the sea bed near Titanic's stern are suggestive evidence of where a victim of the disaster came to rest. (AP Photo/Institute for Exploration, Center for Archaeological Oceanography/University of Rhode Island/NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration)

NEW YORK – There may be human remains embedded in the mud of the North Atlantic where the New York-bound Titanic came to rest when it sank 100 years ago, a U.S. official said on Saturday.

James Delgado, director of maritime heritage at the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration, said forensic evidence indicates signs of human remains at the shipwreck site.

Delgado said one 2004 photograph shows a coat and boots in the mud. The way they are “laid out,” he said, makes a “compelling case” that it is where “someone has come to rest.”

He released the full image this week to coincide with the disaster’s centenary. It was previously seen in a cropped version. They were taken during a NOAA expedition.

The luxury liner went down April 14, 1912, after striking an iceberg.