The famous Bermuda Triangle; The truth and myths

THE Bermuda Triangle mystery has seen 75 planes and hundreds of ships go missing at the location without explanation.
Here's everything you need to know about the socalled Devil's Triangle which has been baffling experts for decades...

Where is the Bermuda Triangle?

The Bermuda Triangle lies in a section of the North Atlantic Ocean.
It covers an area of 440,000 miles of sea.
It's one of the most heavily travelled shipping lanes in the world, with vessels crossing through to get to ports in America, Europe and the Caribbean.

How many planes and ships have been lost in the Bermuda Triangle?

The Bermuda Triangle, or Devil's Triangle, has been blamed for the disappearance of dozens of planes and ships in the past 100 years.
When Christopher Columbus sailed through the area on his first voyage to the New World, he reported that a great flame of fire crashed into the sea one night and that a strange light appeared in the distance a few weeks later.
William Shakespeare’s play “The Tempest,” which some scholars claim was based on a real-life Bermuda shipwreck, may have enhanced the area’s aura of mystery.
Bermuda Island is a small strip of land that is located in the Atlantic Ocean
Reports of unexplained disappearances did not really capture the public’s attention until the 20th century when the USS Cyclops, a 542-foot-long Navy cargo ship with over 300 men on-board, sank somewhere between Barbados and the Chesapeake Bay.
At least 1,000 lives have been lost in the last 10 years.
On average, four aircraft and 20 yachts go missing every year .

Are there any recent cases of Bermuda Triangle disappearances?

Plane wreckage was found near where a private plane carrying four people went missing inside the infamous Bermuda Triangle.
Pilot Nathan Ulrich, 52, and Jennifer Blumin, 40, the CEO of New York event management firm Skylight Group, were onboard along with Blumin’ sons, Phineas, four, and two-year-old Theodore.
Crews are currently searching for any survivors.
Torpedo Bomber #28, the lead plane of Flight 19, which mysteriously vanished in the Bermuda Triangle

What other famous Bermuda Triangle disappearances have there been?

One of the most famous mysteries was the disappearance of Flight 19 when five TBM Avenger Torpedo Bombers vanished over the Bermuda Triangle on December 5, 1945.
All 14 men on the flight disappeared without a trace and a Martin Mariner Flying Boat also vanished during the search with 13 men on board.
In 1918, the USS Cyclops was a massive carrier ship that supplied fuel to the American feet in WWI. The ship set sail with 309 people on board and was full of heavy cargo.
After it failed to arrive in Baltimore from Barbados, search teams retraced its route but it was never found. Two of the Cyclops’s sister ships disappeared along the same route in 1941.

What Bermuda Triangle conspiracy theories are there?

Conspiracy theorists have been trying to crack th mystery of the Bermuda Triangle for years - with ideas ranging from aliens to the lost city of Atlantis.

1. The paranormal - Some writers have blamed UFOs for the disappearances. They believe that aliens use the Triangle as a portal to travel to an from our planet. The area is like a gathering station where they capture people, ships and aircraft to conduct research.

2. The lost city of Atlantis - Theorists believe the fabled city once resided under the Triangle and mystical crystals which powered Atlantis are still resting on the seabed transmitting huge waves o energy that destroy the vessels on the sea above

3. Gigantic structures under the sea - Paranorma explorers claimed they found a massive crystal pyramid lurking beneath the ocean in the Triangle. They implied this may be responsible fo crashing ships and aircraft.
   An artist's impression of the underwater pyramid

4. Souls of African slaves - One of the most significant theories is that the Triangle is made u of the souls of slaves who had been thrown overboard by sea captains on their journey to the States. In his book Healing the Haunted, Dr Kenneth McAll claimed that a haunting sound could be heard while sailing in the notorious waters.

5. Government testing - The US Navy's Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center (AUTEC) is located in the mysterious Bermuda Triangle. It's used as a hub to test submarines, weapons, sonar, secret projects and reverse-engineered alien technology, and some say it is behind the disappearances.

What is the likely cause of the Bermuda Triangle mystery?

There are a number of plausible explanations for the mystery, but the most revered are extreme weather patterns or human error.
Pictured are the strange hexagonal clouds seen hovering above the Bermuda Triangle

1. Tropical cyclones - These powerful storms form in tropical waters and have killed thousands of people. The cyclones have been blamed for a number of sinkings - including the Pride of Baltimore on May 14, 1986.

2. Methane Hydrates - Huge underwater gas explosions could explain the disappearance of ships in the Triangle . Because of accidental drillings or landslides under the surface of the earth, the wide bed of gas could be unlocked, reducing the density of water dramatically. Due t extremely low density water, ships suddenly sink to the bottom. The combustible gas could also blow aircraft to pieces.
   Strange cloud formations could be linked to Bermuda Triangle mystery

3. Electronic fog - The most notable theory of the Bermuda Triangle, electronic fog is a meteorological phenomenon which sticks to an aircraft or a ship. It's said that the fog causes equipment on aircrafts and ships to malfunction - such as spinning of compasses.

4. Human error - Some, like Australian scientist Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, simply blame human error .
   "According to Lloyds of London and the US coast guard, the number of planes that go missing in the Bermuda Triangle is the same as anywhere in the world on a percentage basis," he argues.
   This potentially caused businessman Harvey Conover to lose his sailing yacht, the Revonoc, as he sailed into the teeth of a storm south of Florida on January 1, 1958.

5. The hexagonal clouds - The newest explanation is the clouds causing terrifying 170mph winds air bombs. These winds are powerful enough to generate waves of more than 45ft high as “air bombs” are forced to come crashing down towards the ocean.