CONTEMPORARY
WORLD MEDIA
SUBMITTED BY:
MUHAMMAD RIZWAN 2038
SUBMITTED TO:
MR. HAMMAD BASHIR
TOPIC:
SPECULATION ABOUT THE MAJOR
ACCIDENTS IN BERMUDA TRIANGLE
DEPARTMENT:
MASS COMMUNICATION
[4th (Morning)]
Speculations About The Major Accidents In The Bermuda
Triangle
One of the most talked about mysteries of modern time is of The Bermuda Triangle. It is a triangular
area in the Atlantic Ocean between Bermuda, Miami (Florida) and San Juan (Puerto Rico) but there is
no clear-cut demarcation of the boundaries of this area. A lot of mis happenings are attributed to this
mysterious part of the ocean. There are a lot of ships, small boats, aircrafts that went missing which
going through this mysterious area and left no mark whatsoever. Because the number of tragedies which
are associated to this notorious are is very high, it has become a subject of debate and various kinds of
speculations. In this piece of paper, we will explore all such speculations and try to find how much truth
is there in each of them. There are a number of books and documentaries which are made on this topic
and lot of people have tried to come up with explanation of why things happen the way they happen in
this area. Some people attribute it to the unforgiving weather conditions that this area experience, some
give it to the high traffic in this region. And some say that there are some paranormal and extraterrestrial
activities going on in this area.
Major Accidents associated with Bermuda Triangle
1. The USS Cyclops
The major incident which is associated with Bermuda triangle is sinking of the USS Cyclops. It was not a
small ship and because of its sheer size the fact that it got disappeared without leaving a trace behind was
troubling. It was in March 1918, that USS cyclops on its course to West Indies got disappeared. It was some
550 feet in length and had a crew consisting of 306 people. It was carrying about 11,000 tons of manganese.
It was in the march of 1918 that it was given a cargo of dense manganese ore and was on his way to
Barbados. The weather was fair and the sky was clear. Everything was okay till the 9th day and something
happened, after which there was no trace of the ship was found and none of the crew member were seen of
came in contact. This incident was published in many magazines caring sensationalist headlines, describing
the incident in the most eye-catching way. It has been 100 years since this incident happened no plausible
reason have been found.
2. Sulphur Queen SS Marine
The SS Sulphur Marine was a very large commercial tanker built in 1944. It was mainly built to carry
sulphur from one place to another. On its voyage to Norfolk in Feb 1963 when it was carrying about
15000 tons of sulphur with a crew of 39 members which proved to be its last voyage. The last
communication which received from the mariner was on 4th of Feb. It was a normal message and it
didn‟t indicate any sort of danger. But after that, nothing was heard from their side. This led to a search
operation and what they found was just some life preservatives and some waste. There was no sign, not
even a single trace of the massive ship. It disappeared along with the crew members. Further
investigations into the case revealed that the mariner could have gushed through rough waves and
through difficult weather conditions. Since it was s sulphur tank and was used to transport molten
sulphur, there was a mechanism used to keep the sulphur in the tank molten. One of the reasons which is
speculated for the disappreance of this ship is that the system would have malfunctioned and it must
have caught fire. But even after that, leaving no trace behind is something which raised everyone‟s
eyebrow.
3. Flight 19 Incident
One of the most sensationalist accident that happened in Bermuda triangle was that of Fight 19. It was
something which had such a sensationalist effect that it became a news overnight. It was on December
5th 1945 that a fleet of 6 navy planes that were on some training mission which was expected to last for
two hours. The training started by taking off from the Naval Air Station at Florida. Then, they had to
move 160 miles towards East, followed by 40 miles in the North, and then finally return to their base. It
was the part of their normal routine training mission. Since none of the incident has happened before
they had let their guards down and were not aware of the possible dangers and consequences. The crew
consist of pilots well trained to handle all sorts of turbulences and emergencies. Before taking off, they
had done all the checks of instruments and body parts before taking off. It was the time to take off and
they did so, at 2 PM. The weather was okay and they were running on full tank. The sun was shining and
the sky was clear. But, suddenly at 3:15 P.M, the Air Station at Florida received an unusual message
from the Flight Leader (Lieutenant Charles Taylor), that “everything is wrong”, “We cannot see the
land”, “We can‟t be sure of the direction”, “The Ocean doesn‟t look as it should”. The planes lost
direction and were just hovering above the sea. The compasses were not working and were showing
different reading every time. The gyro meter was not working as well. The commanders of the five
planes were not able to make contact with each other. However, their communication could be heard at
the Florida Air Station. A Maritime Mariner, with a rescue team of thirteen members was sent to rescue
the commanders, but it had disappeared as well. An intensive search operation was carried out to find
the remains of the Flight 19. The search involved 240 planes, several submarines, hundreds of private
planes, Coast Guard vessels, boats, PBMs from the Banana River Naval Air Station. Even after an
intensive search operation of 4,100 hours, nothing could be found – no wreckage, no oil slicks, and no
life. On the same day, at 7:30 P.M a merchant ship noticed an explosion in the sky. But it is found that
the explosion was not of the Flight 19 airplane, because it was not possible for the airplanes to fly in the
sky hours after their fuel was exhausted. The commandos were well trained to land the plane on the sea
for about 90 seconds and evacuate the plane within 60 seconds. Life rafts were also available. The
amusing thing here is, that it just disappeared. Even if the weather was not good, the electric equipment
and the compass should 4 work. There was an unusual reference to white water by the flight leader. This
white water could be the thick fog which is not unusual in oceans. A Naval Board of Inquiry report says
that “the Board is not able to make any conclusion of what could have happened”. The plane vanished as
if there was space travel or a possible UFOs sighting.
4. Star Tiger
Star Tiger was a British South American Tudor IV (capacity to accommodate four passengers),
converted into Lancaster Bomber. On 29th January 1948, it was flying from Azores to Bermuda. It 5
was carrying 25 passengers. It was scheduled to land at Bermuda. Shortly before landing at around
10:30 P.M the pilot of the plane sent a message via radio that “weather and performance was excellent.
This message was sent 380 miles the coast of Bermuda. Unfortunately, the plane never arrived. There
was no indication of the flight not functioning, nor was any SOS message sent. Nothing was sited during
the rescue operations which was carried out for several days. Numerous ham radios picked up unclear
messages spelled out “Tiger” using numbered dots. It was as if the sender was unaware of the Morse
code.
5. Cyclops
Cyclops was a US Navy supply ship which was 500 feet in height. It sailed from Barbados to Norfolk
with 309 passengers, on 4th March, 1918. There was no report of a bad weather, nor was any radio
message found. The wreckage was not found as well.
6. Rosaline
In 1840, Rosaline, a French ship was all set on a journey towards Havana. The strange thing which
happened here is that the ship did not disappear, but the passengers and the crew members were missing.
The sails were all set and the cargo was all intact. This shows that the evil doer was more interested in
the people and not the cargo. Hence the option of pirate attack can be ruled out. There were no cases of
sickness, because there was no such indication.
7. Disappearance of DC-3 NC16002
Another very high-profile case of disappreance is of Flight DC-3 which was on its way to Miami from
Puerto Rico. Just like in almost all the cases there was no problem with the weather and it was okay to
take a flight. There was a continuous exchange of message between the pilot and the control room. But
when it was just 20 minutes short of completing its journey, the plane suddenly got disappeared in thin
air along with the pilot, crew and passengers alike. Now a lot of explanations are given for its sudden
isoprene, some say that an explosion must have happened but given the extend of such and explosion
that would„ve happened, there were no signs nothing of that sour was found out. Another explanation
which was given was that the transmitter must have been faulty and due to which they could‟ve lost the
track and took a different route. After sometime they must‟ve got ran out of fuel and crashed. But this
explanation does not seem probable as it was just 20 min short of reaching its destination and was just
50 miles away, the argument that because of faulty transmitter, they lost their way seems highly
improbable. It has been 46 years since this fateful incident but it is still unresolved.
Possible reasons for such incidents
1. Natural Calamities
One of the most plausible reason given for such events happening is that region has faced a lot of
natural calamities both above as well as under water. Natural calamities like underwater earthquakes,
landslides, waterspouts, tornadoes which end up going into the sea, storms, hurricanes, and atmospheric
pressure can lead to the disappearance of the ships and airplanes. A waterspout or tornado can easily
sink a boat, ship or a plane. Huge waves caused due to tsunami can go up to the height of 200 feet,
which can easily sink huge ships. Underwater 8 landslides are caused due to fault in the earth‟s crust,
which causes seiche waves. These waves are powerful enough to engulf a ship.
2. Electromagnetic Effects
Another possible reason given for such occurrences is the electromagnetic effect. Most of the sailors
have told about facing difficulty with their instruments not just inside Bermuda triangle but around it.
Hugh Brown, an electrical engineer has noticed that there are certain locations on the earth where the
magnetic field has been reversed. This might explain the reasons for fluctuations in the magnetic needles
and devices. There are some “areas of reduced binding” which caused a turbulence great enough to
destroy a plane. Also, the Bermuda Triangle is one of the places on the earth, where the compass needle
points the true north. So, the compass variation, that is, the difference between the true north and the
magnetic north, can lead to inaccurate readings if not taken into consideration.
3. Blue Holes
The Blue Holes are large sinkholes created due to the presence of caves thousands of years ago.
Bahamas has a large number of Blue Holes. Thousands of years ago, these holes were limestone caves
present above water. However, the sea level has rose at a huge rate due to the melting of glaciers. The
sea water filled these caves and these caves became the blue holes. These holes are located at various
locations. There are a lot of adventurous divers who have dived into these blue holes and found the
existence of marine life underwater. They also observed a lot of ships which were submerged in the blue
holes. The ocean current is very strong in these blue holes. During tide, a strong funnel effect is created
when water enters these holes. This leads to the formation of powerful whirlpools which can easily
engulf ships. However, this phenomenon does not explain the disappearance of planes.
4. Human Error
One of the most plausible reasons given for the happenings of such incidents is that the region is very
challenging to travel through and human error could be one of the most likely reasons why such
incidents keep on happening.
5. Sea Creatures
Now we came to the domain of things which looks like fiction. Many people have claimed that they
have seen a giant sea monster living in the Bermuda triangle. People have named it as “Pliocene
Mesosaurus or Ichthyosaurus”. The creature was six-feet in length and was similar to tadpole. It was
found out that once the creature grew, it would be around 72 feet long.
6. Space, Time Wraps, Other worlds and UFOs
Another reason given for such occurrences of such accidents is the play of space, time wraps which
could be a doorway to some other worlds like parallel universe. The true north and the magnetic north
become aligned at the Bermuda triangle. This have led scientist to come up with the term of anti-gravity
where the natural forces of gravity and magnetism don‟t work. Certain ships which went to study these
regions for their anomalies too got trapped and all the scientists they had on-board disappeared. There
have been some traces of contra-terrene matter which has been found and it is unlike the material found
in the crust of the earth. Some researchers have gone to the extent of saying that the disappearances of
the airplanes, ships, boats are due to the activity of UFOs which seem to have gulped them. They say
that these UFOs are way more powerful than the human made modes of transport and are thus ableto
overpower them quite easily. The MS Mariner Sulphur Queen disappeared in 1963 without leaving any
traces. It had 39 members on board. This ship disappeared somewhere in the Dry Tortugas in the month
of February. No trace of the driver or any crew was found ever. Only a life jacket was found. That too
was torn and tattered. This has led to the conclusion that some paranormal or alien activities must have
contributed to such accidents. Much of these speculations are put forwards by the fanatics of US though
which think that aliens have some special interest in them.
My opinion on Bermuda Triangle Mystery
The Bermuda Triangle is altogether a result of mainstream society, fiction books and motion pictures.
There are numerous such triangles all through the world and the main characteristic in like manner
between them is they happen in districts where warm and chilly climate fronts once in a while meet
making abrupt and savage tempests. On the off chance that over a sea these can likewise offer ascent to
typhoons. Unpractised pilots and boaters incidentally may lose their lives and vessels whenever got off
guard. The Great Lakes Triangle has had more art and lives lost truly than the Bermuda Triangle. Be that
as it may, with better specialties and preparing, not many misfortunes happen anything else in these
regions – measurably close to some other zone of the sea. There are no UFO's, outsiders or Atlantis' in
any of these zones. There is positively no secret to them at all. Be that as it may, mainstream society
cherishes a riddle thus you get intellectuals who continue having confidence in the fantasies. Bermuda
Triangle made into prevalence with Columbus' portrayal of strange occurrences in the zone, and after
pseudo-science took a hold of it, the fantasies got well known both as a subject of interest and writing.
Although the reasons which were mentioned above may have some weight but there are many such
places which are regularly hit with natural calamities and have issues with electromagnetic interference
or places where extreme weather conditions or environment is such which increases the chances of
human error. And most of these places have experienced such accidents happening much more than
other areas. But that does not mean that we should relate it with something supernormal.
References:
 https://www.theweek.co.uk/95557/bermuda-triangle-five-theories-on-the-mysteriousdisappearances
 https://www.travelchannel.com/interests/haunted/articles/the-mysteries-of-the-bermuda-triangle
 https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/ev8kam/the-enduring-mystery-of-the-bermuda-triangle-andits-many-scientific-explanations
 https://curiosity.com/topics/the-bermuda-triangle-isnt-actually-a-mystery-curiosity/
 https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-tips/what-is-the-bermuda-triangle
 https://www.britannica.com/place/Bermuda-Triangle
 https://www.bermuda-attractions.com/bermuda2_00009f.htm