Philippines - The remains of a Japanese WWII battleship at the bottom of the Sibuyan Sea have been declared a hoax in a coastguard's report identifying the wreck as a decrepit sardine trawler that went down during a typhoon in 1983.
Divers working for Paul Allen, Microsoft co-founder, had earlier claimed finding the wreck of the famous Musashi - the last warship ever built by the Japanese Imperial Army - which sank in a US air raid in 1944.
A team armed with high-def cameras mounted on submersible probes initially sent back pictures showing 'amazing' stuff described as 'valve wheels', a 'catapult system for launching planes', a 'large gun turret' and one of the vessel's 15-ton anchors.
But within hours the hoax was uncovered as piles of rotting mackerel, cod and sardines were found to be behind the images.
Tonight a spokesperson for Paul Allen said it had been an honest mistake, something that anyone could have made under the circumstances.
Google CEO Larry Page's sightings of the Marie Celeste in the Bermuda Triangle are also now thought to be a prank.
