Scientists suggest new theory behind the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle

Are 'air bombs' to blame for the Bermuda Triangle mystery ? Image Credit: CC BY-SA 2.0 Kein
Scientists have come up with a new theory that could help to explain the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle.
There are few mysteries as enduring and as well known as the Bermuda Triangle - an expanse of ocean in the North Atlantic that spans the area between Florida, Bermuda and Puerto Rico.

Over the years the region has become synonymous with the unexplained disappearances of ships and airplanes - often with no trace of them or their crews ever being found.

Numerous theories have been put forward over the years in an effort to explain the phenomenon, but now scientists in Colorado believe that they might have finally found a definitive answer.

The key, they argue, lies in the formation of hexagonal clouds which can produce "air bombs" - concentrated pockets of violent weather with 45ft waves and wind speeds of up to 170mph.

"They are formed by what are called microbursts and they're blasts of air that come down out of the bottom of a cloud and then hit the ocean," said metereologist Randy Cerveny.

Whether this phenomenon can account for all the mysterious disappearances of ships and planes in the region over the last few decades however remains, for the moment at least, unclear.