A newly discovered photograph proves that Amelia Earhart did not die in a plane crash but was captured by the Japanese, experts have claimed 80 years after her disappearance.

The photograph was found in a former “top secret” file at the US National Archives and is believed to have been taken in 1937 - the same year Earhart disappeared during her round-the-world flight attempt.

It had been generally accepted that Earhart, and her navigator Fred Noonan, died on July 2, 1937, when their plane crashed close to Howland Island in the central Pacific Ocean, amid poor visibility and low fuel levels.