SCIENTISTS have solved the 90-year-old riddle of the identity of an infant who perished when the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage from Southampton.

For years the 13-month-old boy buried in a Canadian graveyard as "An Unknown Child" was thought to have been Swedish.

But, now, the boy has been named as Eino Panula, a Finn whose body was recovered after the disaster on April 15, 1912.

A 50-strong Canadian-based team of scientists, historians, genealogists and dentists discovered the little boy's true identity after matching DNA from fragments of bone and teeth to a family member from Finland.

It is the first time that any of the 1,503 passengers and crew who died when the Titanic sank has been identified by DNA technology. It has ignited fresh hope that dozens of other nameless victims could now be identified. One-third of the dead were from the Southampton area.

Eino's mother and four brothers also died in the tragedy.

His body was buried in a cemetery at Halifax, Nova Scotia, after the crew of the Titanic paid for his grave. His remains were exhumed in 2001 but will now be buried in his original resting place.