Rare Video of 1986 Dive in Titanic Wreckage to Be Released

In this image provided by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, an underwater remote vehicle examines an open window of the Titanic 12,500 feet (3.8 kilometers) below the surface of the ocean, 400 miles (640 kilometers) off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada in 1986. (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution via AP)

Rare and in some cases never before publicly seen video of the 1986 dive through the wreckage of the Titanic is being released Wednesday by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

The more than 80 minutes of footage on the WHOI's YouTube channel chronicles some of the remarkable achievements of the dive led by Robert Ballard that marked the first time human eyes had seen the giant ocean liner since it struck an iceberg and sank in the frigid North Atlantic in April 1912. About 1,500 people died during the ship's maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City.