The Bermuda Triangle, aptly known as the Devil’s Triangle, has its name for various mysterious accidents and disappearances taking place within the region. Situated in the Western part of the North Atlantic Ocean, the area is heavily travelled by ships and aeroplanes, many of which have often disappeared mysteriously. There are theories regarding the “Devil” of the triangle being Supernatural or natural, but the accidents never seem to be at bay. While there are several natural explanations, the latest one, put forward by a group of meteorologists, appear to have a sound theory.
They claim that hexagonal clouds creating “air-bombs” with winds of up to 170 mph could be accountable for hundreds of unsolved incidents at sea. The storms, they say, are so powerful that they can ‘plunge’ ships and planes into the sea effortlessly.
Take a look at some of the tragedies at the Bermuda Triangle, which took away about 1,000 lives, 75 aircraft and hundreds of ships over the past 100 years.
- USS Pickering (1798)
One of the earliest disappearances in the region, the USS Pickering was a topsail schooner at the US Navy during the Quasi-War with France. On 20th August 1798, she sailed for Delaware but was never found again. With 90 people on board, the USS Pickering is said to be lost in a Gale, though this was never proven.
2. Ellen Austin (1881)
The Ellen Austin was an American ship which used to sail between New York and London. On one such trip, she came across an isolated ship which was quickly moving towards the Bermuda Triangle and sent some of its crew for scavenging the vessel. They attempted to sail the ship alongside Ellen Austin but failed when a storm separated them, and it was nowhere to be found. The Ellen Austin came on the same ship for the second time later on, but the same thing happened again.
3. The USS Cyclops (1918)
Built for the US Navy years before the World War I, the USS Cyclops remains one of the largest loss of life of the times, not directly involving combat. It had 309 people on board when it was sailing to Baltimore through the Bermuda Triangle. The Naval forces last heard from it in Barbados, after which no trace of the ship was found. Fearing that the ship was captured by German submarines, a large search initiative was conducted, but nothing was found.
4. Flight 19 (1945)
One of the most famous events in the region, Flight 19 was the designation of five Grumman TBM Avenger torpedo bombers which disappeared over the Bermuda Triangle on December 5, 1945, during a training flight. There were 14 men on the plane and later during the search, a Martin Mariner Flying Boat vanished with 13 people on board and was never heard of again.
5. Flight 441 (1954)
The Flight 441 seemed to have been just erased off the earth with its 42 passengers consisting naval officers and their families on October 30, 1954. It was one of the most successful models, only 400 miles away from the coast inside the Bermuda Triangle, when it disappeared. A broad search found nothing, not even the life rafts which were supposed to float on the water in case the plane crashed and the pilot never sent an SOS call either. It is marked as one of the most tragic incidents that has happened over the Bermuda Triangle.
6. Trislander (2008)
It is the most recent aircraft accident that has occurred over the Bermuda Triangle. On December 15, 2008, just 35 minutes after the take-off, the British-Norman Islander who was headed to New York, ascended around the West Caicos island and went off the radar. The US Coast Guard launched a search massive search mission, but no one could find the aeroplane.
With the new theory coming up, we hope that there would finally be a legit explanation regarding these unfortunate events.