The second of two British explorer ships that vanished in the Arctic nearly 170 years ago during an expedition to find the fabled Northwest Passage has been found.

The Arctic Research Foundation said in Canada that the HMS Terror had been located by a research ship.

Last seen in the 1840s while under the command of Sir John Franklin, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror have long been among the most sought-after prizes in marine archaeology and the subject of songs, poems and novels.

The wreck of the Erebus was found in 2014.

Adrian Schimnowski, the expedition leader of the research ship that located the HMS Terror, said the ship was found on September 3, adding: "It is a perfect time capsule."

The Terror was discovered in 26 yards of water in Terror Bay, a small indentation on the coast of King William Island west of the community of Gjoa Haven.

Canadian Rear-Admiral John Newton said the two Franklin ships were found about 31 miles apart from each other.

Sir John and 128 hand-picked officers and men had set out in 1845 to find the Northwest Passage, the long-sought shortcut to Asia that supposedly ran from the Atlantic to the Pacific by way of the harsh, ice-choked Arctic.

The death of all 129 men made the Franklin expedition the worst tragedy in the history of Arctic exploration.