The Bermuda Triangle, or Devil’s Triangle, is the name given to an area that has been at the centre of many unexplained disappearances. The Bermuda Triangle lies between Bermuda, Miami and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Within this area of water, numerous planes and ships have mysteriously vanished.

The mystery of the Bermuda Triangle began in 1950. A small article appeared outlining the strange disappearances of ships and planes. The area was given the name The Devil’s Sea. In a feature in 1964, Vincent Gaddis christened the area the Bermuda Triangle.

One of the most famous disappearances occurred in 1945. Flight 19 was a squadron of five naval bombers. All five planes supposedly disappeared while flying over the Bermuda Triangle. The two planes that set out to rescue Flight 19 also disappeared and were never found. Naval ships such as the USS Cyclops and the Marine Sulpher Queen also disappeared without a trace.

Another disappearance was that of Donald Crowhurst, who was attempting an around the world voyage. A large ship carrying ore also mysteriously vanished after only three days at sea. An official statement by the US Coastguard states that repeated search attempts were made, but no traces were ever found of the missing planes or ships.

Popularity of the Bermuda Triangle phenomenon reached a peak in 1974 with the publication of Charles Berlitz’s book, The Bermuda Triangle. At around the same time, a film with the same name was also released. Numerous articles and books have since been published to try and give scientific explanations to the mystery. Some of the explanations have been more than credible.

The stretch of water where the disappearances occurred is notorious for tropical storms. Many of the reports at the time claim that the ships and planes were lost in calm waters. Weather reports checked since do not agree with these reports. Also, the area of water under the triangle has large areas of methane gas eruptions. These eruptions create areas of gas that are incapable of supporting the weight of a ship.

Lawrence Kusche, a reference librarian at Arizona State University, conducted a lengthy investigation into the mystery. His conclusions cast doubt on many of the disappearances. David Crowhurst’s diaries prove his mental state to be suicidal as he sailed around the world. An area of the sea off of Japan has the same strange magnetic elements as that of the Bermuda Triangle. Many disappearances have also occurred there.

There are also a number of discrepancies in the reports of the Flight 19 disappearance. Flight 19 was reported to have been manned by experienced pilots flying in calm weather. In fact, the flight was a training exercise for students and the weather had turned stormy. The last contact with the flight stated that they were running low on fuel. The flight would no doubt have crash-landed, and no one could have survived the stormy seas of the triangle.

For all Kusche’s credible explanations of the disappearances, one mystery remains. None of the crashed planes were ever recovered. As a mystery, the Bermuda Triangle is one that may never be solved. It is certainly an area that would give cause for concern to anyone traveling across.