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New Documentary Reveals The Secrets Of The Bermuda Triangle

New Documentary Reveals The Secrets Of The Bermuda Triangle

The mystery is finally solved.

Michael Minay

Michael Minay

The mystery of the Bermuda Triangle is one that has baffled the researchers, the scientists and the geographers for years.

A 'new island' discovered in June only deepened the theory, with the area believed to have claimed over 300 shifts and 75 aircraft.

In May, the US coast guard was dispatched to the Bahamas in search for a small plane which had disappeared.

Some have blamed huge freak waves that swallow everything up in their path, while other legends speak of ferocious whirlpools.

The area of sea, which covers some 270,000 square-miles between Bermuda, Florida and Puerto Rico, is now the subject of a new documentary trying to unravel the mystery.

Draining the Bermuda Triangle first of all looks at some of the more infamous cases to have disappeared when entering the triangle.

Credit: Facebook

USS Cyclops, a large tanker carrying more than 10,000 tonnes of manganese ore, vanished without a trace on March 4, 1918.

309 members of crew were never found again.

The documentary explored the Puerto Rico trench. At 8km deep it's the deepest point of the Bermuda Triangle (and the Atlantic Ocean).

Its findings fear that a movement of tectonic plates could trigger an underwater volcano, which, in turn, causes immense destructive waves that could easily overwhelm a boat like Cyclops.

In 1945, five torpedo bombers and a flying boat, as a part of 'Flight 19' were completing a navigational training exercise and had an experience Lieutenant in command.

Credit: Channel 5

Midway through the exercise, Lt Charles Taylor reported problems with his compasses deteriorating weather conditions.

A flying boat was dispatched to bring the planes home, but with reports of a mid-air explosion around half-an-hour after Flight 19 took off.

The Channel Five documentary sees a team use sonar mapping to create a picture of the base of this section of the ocean which has created the mystery for centuries.

The results showed that Bermuda sits on top of an immense sea mountain, 4,000 metres high, marooned in the middle of the Atlantic.

Credit: Channel 5

It's believed this mountain was formed after a volcanic eruption took place in the early years of the Atlantic's development, and become bigger and bigger until it reached the surface, becoming extinct 30 million years ago. Bermuda was the result.

Bermuda is now surrounded by reefs which, at 12m high, can sometimes themselves break the surface at low tide.

These reefs, known as 'breakers' or 'boilers' are often harder than normal rock and can sink a ship in seconds. Their difficulty in being easy to spot also does not help.

Credit: Channel 5

Struan Smith, of the Natural History Museum in Bermuda, said: "They are more visible when there are waves during storms. The breakers are at their most dangerous on a flat calm day, because they cannot be seen at all."

When it comes to whirlpools, the documentary sees Tom Iliffe, a professor of marine biology, explore the Blue Hole on Long Island in the Bahamas.

At the second deepest known salt water hole in the world, whirlpools are evident and as Tom dives he discovers immense tunnels with a powerful suction that could be potentially responsible for pulling huge items beneath the surface.

These sinkholes are believed to have been formed when sea levels were lowers and acidic rainwater eroded away holes in the limestone, before their ceilings would collapse - these large creating chasms would create a bottle shape.

Finally, the weather. Hexagonal clouds can create 170mph winds - bringing ships and planes to a terrible end.

Hurricanes, equatorial storms, and storms off the coast of Mexico converge at the triangle to create high winds and turbulent seas.

Featured Image Credit: Google Maps