World's most dangerous river with '100% mortality rate' is located in the UK
A stretch of river located in the UK is thought to be one of the most dangerous in the world, with some even claiming that no-one has ever survived falling in.
There are of course plenty of dangerous rivers around the world, for a whole variety of different reasons.
It might be alligators, anacondas, piranhas, and candiru in the Amazon, or hippos and crocodiles in the Nile.
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But The Strid in North Yorkshire has a peril which is supposedly equally dangerous, not least because of how innocuous the stretch of water looks at a glance.
The Strid, whose name comes from an Old English word for 'turmoil', is located on the River Wharfe, near to Bolton Abbey in the UK, and the stretch of water which is the most dangerous looks a long way from the enormous Amazon or Nile, but it is no less dangerous.
In fact, at the most dangerous part of the river it's actually narrow enough to jump across, something people have been known to do as an act of daring.
However, this is highly ill-advised, as if you fail to make the jump then you may fall into the river - and if you fall in you are unlikely to ever get out again.
There is actually a very good reason for this river being extremely dangerous, and it's not animals, it's the way that the landscape around it is structured.
The powerful river Wharfe is funnelled through an incredibly tight gap at The Strid, meaning that the water beneath is deep, full of hidden crevices, and strong currents.
Not only that, but it is actually much larger than it appears on the surface - this is no stream, it's a full-blown river.
It’s so dangerous because the Wharfe is generally a shallow and wide river, but at this point it becomes very narrow and deep, essentially flipping the whole river on its side.
Parts of it also flow through underground caves, meaning that it appears to disappear, and those pretty rocks you can see on the surface are in fact an overhang.
So if you are unfortunate enough to fall in, then you will be drawn underneath those overhangs and potentially even into underwater caves, from which it would be impossible to escape alive.
There’s a sign by it that explains how dangerous the river is at that point, but that hasn’t stopped people from ending up in the water over the years.
Stories about The Strid’s lethal nature started back in medieval times when the ‘Boy of Egremont’ and his dog were allegedly pulled in.
Since that first medieval death, there have been numerous others, including 19th century picnickers, an artist in 1934, and a newlywed couple in 1998.
Then, in 2010, an eight-year-old called Aaron Page fell in, his body getting dragged downstream.
This infamous part of the river has even been immortalised in poem by William Wordsworth over the years, as well as American author Gertrude Atherton.
Explaining the power of the river, YouTuber Tom Scott – who made a video about The Strid – said: “There are certainly rivers that have taken more lives, and there are rapids and waterfalls that few boats could sail, but generally you can see them coming.
"This is just an innocent-looking stream in the middle of some woods, you could jump over it, people occasionally do, but if you miss that jump, it'll kill you."
"Those banks are actually overhangs - there isn't any riverbed just below the surface, it's a deep, boiling mass of fast and deadly currents.
"There are claims that falling in has a 100 percent fatality rate; there's no way to confirm that, of course, because 'local person doesn't die in river' doesn't make the news, it has claimed a lot of lives.
"There are even tales from the 12th century of a young boy, set to be the future king of Scotland, who died trying to jump across those waters.
"And anyone or anything that falls in might not come out in any recognisable form, it could just get pulverised against the rocks and the water, over and over and over again.”
He added: "Is it survivable? Yeah, with a lot of equipment and a lot of luck.
"And you've find occasional testimony from foolhardy people who've swum on the calmer pools at the bottom on drier days, but that's also where a young child drowned back in 2010.
"That's why it's so dangerous, it looks safe, it looks tempting, and it will kill you."
Topics: UK News, Weird, Environment
Tom Wood