Fisherman discovers 200-year-old shipwreck off Mexican coast

May 27 (UPI) -- A fisherman off the coast of Mexico spotted a shipwreck that archaeologists determined to be more than 200 years old.

Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History said Manuel Polanco discovered the wreckage of what his believed to be an 18th- or 19th-century English sailboat in an area of the Caribbean coast near the Banco Chinchorro atoll reef.

The institute said the area is known as "Dreamcatcher" or "Sleep Depriver" due to the large number of shipwrecks in the area. The shipwreck found by Polanco, who led archaeologists to numerous other wrecks in the area in the 1960s and 70s, is the 70th one found in the area.

The institute said initial examinations of the wreck indicate the crew had lowered in the anchor in the hopes of preventing the vessel from wrecking, but they were unsuccessful.

Researchers said they will conduct further study of the wreck once the COVID-19 pandemic subsides.