A content creator took it upon himself to drop a drone to the bottom of The Great Blue Hole, located off the coast of Belize.
While it may sound like a mythical location, it is a real marine sinkhole that is about 124 metres deep and 318 metres across.
In fact, the sinkhole is so famous that divers travel to the country to experience it themselves, after it was discovered by explorer Jacque Cousteau, who coined it as one of the top five scuba diving sites in the world.
And as with most things to do with the ocean, there is an air of mystery around the hole, and what it may contain.
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Keeping with human nature, the need to get to the bottom of holes took over for YouTuber Will Mitchell, who decided to drop a drone down the hole to see what he could find.
Previously, attempts to get to the bottom has resulted in the discovery of the remains of two people who died there as well as the likes of a GoPro and plastic waste.
However, truly exploring The Great Blue Hole isn’t so simple. When a pair of submarines headed down there in 2018, they found a bustling aquatic life.
But then at a certain point, everything seems to disappear as at about 90 metres deep, there is a layer of hydrogen sulphide beyond which the water becomes much darker and devoid of life.
This video shows footage captured by a contraption made up of dive weights, lights and a GoPro.
However, one of the main concerns was how the sharks down there would react to the drone. In the clip, the shark can be seen circulating before it suddenly vanishes.
And then, in an absolute jump scare it quickly reappears and smashes into the camera.
The drone is thrown around, giving viewers a bit of travel sickness to be honest, and completely knocks off the controller’s ‘orientation’.
“The shark just blitzed us,” he said, as they all appear frightened the creature will destroy the device. However, it seems to make it away unscathed – the shark’s just not that bothered about a lump of metal apparently.
In another part of the footage, the contraption uses grabbers to pick up a plastic bag and retrieve it from littering the ocean.
The GoPro creepily captured the stark contrast between the Great Blue Hole from above and below the layer of hydrogen sulphide.
The water above it was teeming with life and far more visible. Whereas below lay a disturbing graveyard, was barren of light and activity. Essentially, it seems to be little more than a home for the deceased husks of once-living things that had unfortunately fallen into the depths.
Topics: Science, Sharks, YouTube, Travel, Environment
Joshua Nair