Original subtitles

Narrator: worldwide, 6 billion Cameras are watching us

On our streets, At work, and in our homes.

They capture things That seem impossible.

[ horn honks ]

It defies the laws of physics.

Man: ah, this is Unbelievable, man.

Narrator: experts carry out Forensic analysis

Of these unusual events.

There's got to be some Explanation for what's going on.

[ woman screams ]

[ whirs ]

Narrator: coming up, A battle copter's burning halo

Baffles investigators...

It's not supposed to be Emanating light like that.

Muñoz: these are almost Angels of death.

It sends chills Down your spine.

Narrator: ...The ocean's Deadliest killer

Lurks by a golf course's 15th hole...

What is a shark during in a lake On a golf course?

♪♪

Narrator: ...And attack of the blob.

Terrified residents flee This faceless monster.

It would move like a blob. It looked alive.

Narrator: bizarre phenomena.

Mysteries caught on camera.

What's the truth Behind this strange evidence?

[ screams ]

-- captions by vitac -- Www.Vitac.Com

captions paid for by Discovery communications

Narrator: night-vision cameras Capture an unnerving sight --

A u.S. Military helicopter Radiating a ghostly halo.

It has a kind of A supernatural air to it.

Moran: my immediate reaction is, "What is that?"

It's like nothing I've ever seen before.

Narrator: Experts fear an intervention

From another dimension.

Just because it's A military aircraft

Doesn't mean It's military technology.

Muñoz: this is not just another Military enemy.

This is something From a higher power.

[ beeping ]

♪♪

Narrator: herat province in War-torn afghanistan --

During a u.S. Special operations Mission,

Night-vision cameras record An otherworldly phenomenon.

As a helicopter comes in To land,

The rotos begin to glow With a ghostly halo.

there's a strange light that's Emanating from the rotor tips.

♪♪

it's immediately apparent

that something really strange Is happening.

this is not normal.

Narrator: amazingly, More footage comes to light

Of the same bizarre phenomenon.

This time, on a marine training Base in california.

The rotors of two helicopters

Burn fierce And inexplicable halos.

Muñoz: seeing these helicopters Come in --

these are almost Angels of death.

it sends chills down your spine.

moran: Everybody's heard of a ufo,

but there's something else Called a uap,

Which is actually "Unidentified Aerial phenomenon,"

And that's what We're seeing here.

It's some kind of phenomenon That we can't explain.

♪♪

Narrator: Journalist joe pappalardo

Reports on military technology

And can identify The helicopters.

one is a boeing ch-47 chinook,

veteran workhorse Of the helicopter fleet.

the other is A ch-53 super stallion,

the largest helicopter In the u.S. Military.

The military is not really eager To advertise

What's happening On battlefields,

So when footage Like this comes in

That shows something mysterious,

It piques your curiosity And really makes you wonder

What's going on With these helicopters.

Narrator: Pappalardo recognizes

The location Of the daylight clip --

The marine corps Air ground combat center

Known as "Twentynine palms"

In san bernardino, california.

This remote setting Makes pappalardo wonder

If the military is testing A new secret battle system.

Twentynine palms is one Of the largest training areas

In the united states.

It's locked away in the desert.

It's the perfect environment For the marines to go

And practice blowing stuff up.

There is weird stuff In the skies over the desert

All the time -- All the time.

There's a lot of research That takes place,

So there could be Research and testing

Of some kind of new technology.

♪♪

Narrator: lindsay moran worked As an undercover operative

For the cia,

Which gave her firsthand Knowledge of covert operations.

She suspects the demonic-looking Helicopter blades

Could be testing A frightening new frontier

In psychological warfare.

You can create terror and Confusion and lack of confidence

By just messing with the enemy, Messing with his mind.

♪♪

Psychological operations Are a big part

Of how The united states wages war.

Narrator: declassified Military records reveal

That u.S. Forces used Fear of the supernatural

To bring terror to the enemy In the jungles of vietnam.

The vietnamese believed that,

If their loved ones Were not properly buried,

They would still roam the area.

Narrator: code-named "Operation wandering soul,"

The army pumped out recordings

Of distorted, ghostly voices At the viet cong troops.

[ indistinct talking ]

That's an example Of something

That was used to create A climate of fear

And to really spook out The enemy.

Narrator: The u.S. Military

Still uses Psychological warfare,

Recently announcing A multimillion-dollar investment

Into creating illusions On the battlefield,

Like invisibility cloaks And holographic imagery.

Wise: it's like the devil Himself is coming for you.

If your enemy's going to be Terrified by your helicopter

With its flaming rotors,

Maybe that'll be a way To get the job done

Without actually killing them.

Narrator: but this doesn't Convince joe pappalardo.

In terms Of psychological operations,

Making A helicopter rotor tip glow

Doesn't really do that much.

I think It's a lot more intimidating

To see a fully armed helicopter Coming at you

Than to see the, You know, rotor tips glowing.

[ whirring ]

♪♪

Narrator: the footage comes To the attention

Of top gun fighter pilot Paco chierici.

[ engine roars ]

In 20 years of flying For the u.S. Navy,

He has seen action Over somalia and iraq.

Chierici suspects The glowing effect

May be An electrical phenomenon,

One that he's witnessed While airborne.

my first impression was that it Was similar to st. Elmo's fire,

some sort Of a static-electricity reaction

to the dust clouds In the helicopter rotor blades.

♪♪

Narrator: St. Elmo's fire occurs

When pointed Or sharp objects

Pass through a strong electric Field in the atmosphere,

Which can be generated By a thunderstorm.

Chierici: I flew this airplane Called the a-6 intruder,

And that would get Just this crazy cone

Of electric blue Static electricity

Coming off the tip of it.

[ electricity crackles ]

Narrator: the electric field Around the tip of the plane

Ionizes air molecules,

Producing a faint glow.

It's always around the Windscreen, and it's incredible.

You can touch the windscreen, And it'll come to your hand.

It's pretty cool.

[ electricity crackles ]

Narrator: But analysis of the footage

Shows the weather is clear,

Absolutely the wrong conditions For st. Elmo's fire.

♪♪

Military reporter carlo muñoz Examines the clips.

He notices that the halo effect Is most obvious

When the helicopters Are about to touch down.

You don't really see this effect

When the helicopters Are higher up,

So it has to be something Coming up off the ground,

Being kicked up by the rotors.

[ whirs ]

Moran: one thing That kind of sticks out

Is it's in the desert,

Where there is An overabundance of sand,

So it begs the question --

Could the sand have something To do with creating this effect?

Narrator: if sand is causing The halo effect,

It could threaten U.S. Desert operations.

Sand can clog and disable The engines that power rotors,

Taking the chopper down.

These are not places where Helicopters are meant to fly,

Yet that's exactly where Military helicopters fly

All the time.

Narrator: could sand interacting With helicopter rotor blades

Really explain These helicopter halos?

Coming up...

A mysterious hole Appears out of nowhere,

Burning with demonic fury.

The locals actually refer To this exact spot

As the doorway to hell, And I completely understand why.

♪♪

Narrator: jaws in A golf course's water hazard.

This is a shark. How did the shark get here?

♪♪

Narrator: and Are u.S. Military helicopters

Flirting with disaster When they operate in the desert?

Muñoz: Figuring out what's happening

Could be a matter Of life or death.

♪♪

[ beeping ]

Narrator: A ghostly halo gleams

Above a special operations Chopper in afghanistan.

Investigators discover More weird halos glowing

On similar U.S. Military aircraft.

Chemical engineer mike sansom Is an explosives expert.

He focuses on the helicopter's Titanium rotors

And notices that the halo light Effect is not constant,

But appears to flicker.

so, I've watched this video Several times now,

and the only thing I can think of is sparks.

♪♪

Narrator: sansom suspects that The halo phenomenon

Might be related To technology

We've understood Since prehistoric times --

Striking flint and steel To make fire.

So, I'm striking This ferrocerium rod,

And it's chipping off Fine particles of the metal,

And these have loads Of surface area,

Which, when they come in contact With the oxygen in the air,

They spontaneously ignite.

♪♪

narrator: Sansom believes that,

as sand grains pepper the Spinning titanium rotor blades,

They might be chipping off Tiny fragments of metal,

Which would ignite, Creating a shower of sparks.

♪♪

To test his sand theory, Sansom sets up an experiment.

So, I've got My titanium rotor blade,

My helicopter,

And then I've got My sand-producing device,

Which is exactly Like the desert.

When I pull this, Sand pours out.

Now, I've got eight of these,

And I'm going to place them All around here.

And then I put my box On top of the helicopter.

All I need is some power, Safety, and darkness.

All right. Here it goes.

[ whirring ]

♪♪

look at that! Instantly!

♪♪

Narrator: Sansom's experiment proves

That sand particles Are hard enough to strike sparks

From the titanium rotor blades.

[ whirring slows ]

The titanium was chipping off,

So you got the sparks burning In the air.

♪♪

Narrator: investigators agree Sansom's spark theory

Sheds some light On the mystery...

But there's a problem.

The experimental rotor blades

Don't reproduce the full Incandescent circle of light

Seen in The helicopter halo footage.

Carlo muñoz wonders if the u.S. Military has made the videos

Deliberately difficult To decipher.

Muñoz: the problem is, really, Trying to prove this.

there's a reason why they call Special operations,

you know, "Black ops,"

because no one's really Gonna get any information,

As far as why they're there, What they're doing,

And what the outcome was.

There's a lot of questions In this video.

Narrator: For now, sansom's spark theory

Is the closest we can get To an explanation

For this bizarre Helicopter halo phenomenon.

♪♪

[ whirring ]

♪♪

Now...Golf-course cameras Capture a man-eater...

♪♪

...In a landlocked lake Near the 15th hole.

It was one of the most Spectacular things

I've ever seen.

Narrator: Experts are baffled.

This is a shark. How did the shark get here?

That puts a whole new meaning To the term "Water hazard,"

Doesn't it?

♪♪

[ whirring, beeping ]

♪♪

Narrator: Carbrook golf course,

20 miles from the coastal city Of brisbane, australia.

Scott wagstaff Is general manager.

my job, really, is just To make sure the place runs well

in line With the members' expectations.

Narrator: for years, Wagstaff hears rumors

Of something strange

In the water hazard Next to the 15th green.

Wagstaff: there was a bit Of a myth around the club.

It was almost like we had A loch ness monster in the lake.

Narrator: wagstaff knows There's no way

For a shark to get into This landlocked lake.

He staked out the water hazard To investigate

What witnesses Might be seeing in there...

When his camera captures Something remarkable.

Wagstaff: there, in front of me, I couldn't believe my eyes.

Kays: you see this fish Swimming around the lake,

And then you see a fin,

and it's obvious This isn't just any fish --

this is a shark.

♪♪

Wagstaff: The shark has just circled.

Big fin.

Probably a 6-to-7-foot shark,

Swimming around In front of me.

If I had the courage, I could have got down

And touched the nose Of the shark,

But, um, I thought that might Not have been a smart idea.

♪♪

[ static crackles ]

[ whirs ]

♪♪

Narrator: wagstaff posts His jaws clip online,

Baffling the experts.

what is a shark doing in a lake In a golf course?

Narrator: wild weather expert George kourounis

Hears about The remarkable footage.

He wonders If this could be evidence

Of a real-life sharknado.

the idea of a "Sharknado" has Been made popular by hollywood,

but here's the thing --

There is a nugget, a grain, If you will,

Of truth behind that idea.

Narrator: kourounis has Researched many cases of animals

Inexplicably picked up And transported

Somewhere outside Of their natural habitat.

Throughout history, There are all kinds

Of stories of creatures Raining down from the sky --

Frogs and even fish.

Narrator: in the past,

Witnesses thought This was the work

Of mischievous gods or spirits,

But, today, scientists believe

That freak weather patterns Are responsible.

Sharks are big, they're heavy,

But there Are some weather phenomena,

Like water spouts or tornadoes,

That could pick up something As big and as heavy as a shark.

♪♪

Narrator: Wind speeds in tornadoes

Have been measured At up to 300 miles per hour.

The strongest storms could rip Whole houses

From their foundations

And snatch 20-ton trucks Into the air.

Over water, Tornadoes become water spouts,

Which could easily carry off A 300-pound shark.

Well, if one of these happens

Over top of a school of fish Or a group of frogs,

It's totally conceivable

That those could be lofted up Into the storm

And then dropped Maybe miles away.

Is it possible for it To rain sharks?

[ whirs ]

Narrator: coming up...

A mysterious ring hovers Over the windy city...

Wise: Is it an alien spaceship?

The imagination Kind of goes there.

Narrator: ...A fiery hole Appears from nowhere...

Imagine if this thing explodes.

[ whirs ]

Narrator: ... And investigators Try to figure out

How jaws wound up In a golf-course lake.

We don't want anyone Going in there

Because it's a matter Of life or death.

They may not come out.

[ beeping ]

♪♪

Narrator: a deadly shark

Lurks in a landlocked lake On a golf course,

Baffling investigators.

Wild-weather expert George kourounis

Believes it could be evidence

Of a shark picked up And dropped

By a powerful storm, A sharknado.

weather phenomena,

like water spouts or tornadoes In particular,

Are well-known for ripping Apart the landscape

And lofting all kinds of debris Up in the air.

[ thunder crashes ]

[ whirs ]

Narrator: marine biologist Brendan talwar

Studies marine predators.

He believes the way sharks Behave in a storm

Undermines The sharknado theory.

typically, If a big storm comes through,

What we generally think Happens with big fish like that

Is they go to deeper water.

♪♪

[ beeping, whirs ]

♪♪

Narrator: talwar analyzes the Alignment of the shark's fins,

And it leads him to suspect

This is one of the most Dangerous fish in the world.

♪♪

It certainly looks like A bull shark.

You can see that the first Dorsal fin

Starts right above The pectoral fins.

[ whirring ]

Then you see the black tips On the fins,

Which is characteristic Of young bull sharks, as well.

What's interesting is that they Have this really unique ability

Where they can Actually tolerate freshwater.

♪♪

Narrator: Oceanographer teresa greely

Of the university Of south florida

Is an expert In marine predators.

She's alarmed to discover The golf course

Is home to one of nature's Most lethal killing machines.

bull sharks are not A selective feeder.

they'll eat just about anything That they encounter,

And they are one of The more aggressive sharks.

Narrator: bull sharks attack And kill intruders

Because Of their aggressive nature.

They pack a powerful bite,

Enough to crack a human skull In a single chomp.

♪♪

These golfers are within putting Distance of a grisly death.

Greely: the question is, How did the bull shark

Get into the water hazard On the golf course?

[ beeping ]

Narrator: Greely knows that people keep

All kinds of exotic And dangerous animals,

Including sharks.

She suspects the golf-course Shark may be an unwanted pet.

♪♪

This could be the case In this water hazard,

That somebody's released a shark Into the water.

Narrator: bull sharks survive In aquariums,

But they're hard to keep.

They grow from 2 feet at birth

To a massive 8 feet in maturity

And quickly overwhelm even The biggest domestic tanks.

Unless the pet owner Is a james bond villain,

They will eventually have to Get rid of their bull shark.

Greely: This is actually not atypical.

We find a lot Of non-native species.

People release them Into the natural setting,

And they tend to adapt And sometimes thrive.

Narrator: But zoologist roland kays

Thinks this is unlikely.

this is brisbane, australia. It's right on the coast.

So you have to think,

Wouldn't they take him And dump him in the ocean

Instead of a golf-course lake?

[ whirring ]

♪♪

Narrator: Course manager scott wagstaff

Comes up with a theory Of his own

After researching The history of the lake.

He uncovers evidence Of a natural disaster

That may hold the key To this fishy mystery.

in the 1990s, we had about three Floods over about four years,

With two river systems Right next to our property.

They burst their banks, Flowed across the golf course,

And all those waters Went into the lake.

Narrator: the gold-course shark May have swam in

During those floods Over 20 years ago.

Greely: I think it's very likely

That the bull shark came to be In the water hazard

Because of a flooding event From the river.

♪♪

Narrator: It's a plausible theory,

But wagstaff still doesn't have A definitive answer

About where The shark came from.

[ choir vocalizing ]

Wagstaff: it's a bit of a scary Situation, really, for the club.

It was really Only until each golfer

Possibly saw it For themselves

That they really believed

That we had something special In our lake.

We don't want anyone Going in there

Because, if they do, It's a matter of life or death.

They may not come out.

Narrator: for now,

The question of how the shark Got into the water hazard

Remains a mystery That's lost none of its bite.

[ vocalizing continues ]

[ whirring ]

Narrator: Now...A slithering blob

Attacks The streets of california.

You see this large, white mass

That's just kind of moving And undulating along,

Filling up the streets.

This is an unstoppable monster, Straight out of a 1950s b-movie.

♪♪

Narrator: experts fear The blob is a killer.

Hari: and it could be Chemical in nature --

Toxic and carcinogenic.

My biggest fear is, Can it hurt me?

[ beeping ]

♪♪

Narrator: november 18, 2016, Santa clara, california.

Sabrina lochner's regular Lunchtime stroll is interrupted

By a bizarre, advancing mass.

Lochner: As I started walking closer,

All I could see Was this whiteness.

almost looked like someone Had dumped snow.

Where we are in california, We don't get snow.

Narrator: Passers-by freeze in amazement

As the unstoppable blob Devours whole cars.

It would actually make waves.

It almost looked alive.

I mean, This is completely bizarre.

people in the video Are just stunned.

[ indistinct conversations ]

Narrator: the rampaging blob

Swiftly overwhelms An entire city street.

Man: holy smoke.

it makes you think, "What the hell's going on?"

[ beeping, whirs ]

Narrator: the clip is posted To andrea sella,

A chemist At university college london.

He wonders If the santa clara blob

May have crawled Out of the nearby pacific ocean.

♪♪

Every so often, when you go Down by the seaside,

Particularly In quite windy locations,

What you'll get is A very, very strong

And resistant sea foam That will persist

And will be blown on land,

Where it will hang around For many hours.

[ birds calling ]

♪♪

Narrator: santa clara lies In the san francisco bay area,

Where over 300,000 gallons Of garbage

Flows into the sea every year.

Sian proctor fears this sea foam Could contain anything,

From heavy metals Like mercury

To dioxins And pesticide residues.

Proctor: Sea foam can be dangerous

To wildlife and to people.

If there are pollutants that Are caught up in that foam,

It can irritate your eyes, Mess up your skin,

And if you ingest it, You could be in big trouble.

♪♪

Narrator: environmental chemist Kishore hari

Specializes In pollution hazards.

♪♪

He casts doubt On the sea-foam theory

Because of the uniform Appearance of the blob.

The color is really consistent Across this.

That tells me that This is produced by man.

[ beeping ]

♪♪

Narrator: Geologist sian proctor

Studies mysterious phenomena Around the world.

She believes she has witnessed A man-made foam

Like the santa clara blob Before,

And it was a killer.

In india, there's this foam That forms in bangalore

Along bellandur lake.

The froth is full of chemicals That are toxic and carcinogenic,

Chemicals that have been placed In that lake

Over a number of years,

And in some cases Even flammable,

So it's incredibly dangerous.

[ whirs ]

Narrator: coming up...

Locals believe this mysterious Pit is a gateway to hell...

What is this? Why is it on fire?

[ rumbling ]

[ siren wailing ]

Narrator: ...Terror in chicago

As a sinister circle spins Above the skyline...

Gallegly: That's really bizarre.

Do you watch, or do you run?

Narrator: ...And is the santa clara blob

About to poison The entire city?

This is an incredibly Dangerous situation.

♪♪

Narrator: A fast-moving blob is engulfing

The streets Of santa clara, california.

♪♪

Environmental chemist Kishore hari

Examines the huge, Metal building

The blob seems to be Escaping from.

this building appears to be Right next to the airport.

hari discovers that the building Is a private jet hangar.

it might be a clue to the nature Of the rampaging white mass.

what many airports have

Is a number Of fire-retardant foams.

This looks like A fire-suppression system

Out of control.

-yeah. -this is crazy.

♪♪

Narrator: experts want to know How so much fire-retardant foam

Could escape from one building

To take over An entire city street.

Sian proctor uses chemicals Similar to the ones present

In the blob to see If they expand at the rate

We see in the footage.

so, in this beaker, I have Hydrogen peroxide

with some dish soap.

Narrator: proctor adds Potassium permanganate

To show how a chemical reaction Allows a tiny amount of liquid

To produce a huge And fast moving blob.

Whoa! [ laughs ]

Look at that!

♪♪

The foam expands to over 1,000 Times its condensed volume.

Proctor believes A similar reaction

Is happening Inside that hanger.

We just produced millions And millions of bubbles.

And that's what we're seeing In the video.

We're seeing gas Being trapped in foam.

♪♪

This is just what we'd see With a fire extinguisher --

Bubbles that expand Thousands of times

More than their size Inside the tank.

It's just an out-of-control System that hasn't shut off.

Narrator: water-based Fire-retardant foam

Contains sodium sulfates

That are also found In domestic detergents.

It poses no serious risk To people or animals,

Although it can cause Skin and eye irritation.

What triggered the avalanche Of foam remains a mystery,

But local witnesses will never Forget the santa clara bob.

weird things don't happen In santa clara.

not like this.

This was not normal. Not at all.

♪♪

♪♪

Now, a sinister circle appears Over the chicago skyline.

Wise: it's in the sky. It's unexplained. It's round.

This is a ufo.

Narrator: experts fear The unidentified aerial object

Could be the beginning Of a disaster.

You wondered if it was something That was about to get worse.

Do you watch or do you run?

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: july 17th, 2010 -- Wicker park, chicago.

Local photographer Michael gallegly

Stops for a coffee.

Gallegly: It was just a normal day.

It's a popular shopping area,

A lot of good bars And restaurants.

We would be out here often, Just having a good time.

But when he looks up, Gallegly witnesses

What looks like an intruder From another world.

♪♪

Man: That's really bizarre.

I said, "Whoa, what is this?"

Other people around us Started to notice it as well.

Narrator: Gallegly grabs his camera to Capture the sinister object.

You know, it was kind of above Two-story buildings.

I mean, it looked large.

it didn't look like just Some small puff of smoke.

it -- it was sizable, And as it got higher in the sky,

It just got wider and wider.

It was just hard to imagine What it could be.

You wondered if it was something That was about to get worse.

Man: that's insane.

♪♪

Procter: it had to be something Very explosive.

Holy moly, what's going on?

♪♪

Narrator: if the mysterious Aerial object really is

A giant ring of smoke,

Geologist sian proctor needs to Find out what might generate it

Over downtown chicago.

To try to re-create the effect,

Proctor sets up an experiment.

Proctor: to understand What we're seeing in the video,

We need to create a spinning, Rolling column of air.

Narrator: to generate A similar smoke ring,

Proctor needs a cylinder with A circular opening and smoke.

That smoke is going to roll up The sides,

And it's going to come Out of this little opening.

There we go.

We can see those rings of smoke

Coming out just like In the video.

♪♪

Based on the size Of the smoke ring,

Whatever created it had to Be something very explosive.

♪♪

The sinister smoke-ring footage

Comes to the attention Of physicist simon foster

Of imperial college london.

there's no smoke without fire,

so that's the first thing you've Got to start thinking about.

Narrator: foster believes That the color of the smoke

Might offer a clue About the source of the fire.

Foster: it's probably some sort Of an electrical fire,

An electrical fire Giving off a lot of smoke

In a very confined space Very rapidly.

[ siren wails ]

Narrator: across the u.S,

Home electrical fires number More than 50,000 a year.

Foster discovers That the electric company

Supplying chicago manages over 90,000 miles of power lines.

♪♪

Experts fear the smoke ring Above the city

May be a sign of imminent Electrical armageddon.

You've got electrical energy, You've got a spark,

And you've got a fuel source.

Boom. It's going to go off.

Narrator: is chicago's Massive grid melting down?

♪♪

Coming up...

Is this pit a doorway To damnation?

Farrow: if this is actually The gate to hell,

Then guess it's open For business.

Narrator: and investigators Race to discover

If the sinister smoke-ring Is the start

Of a city-wide catastrophe.

Any of them can go off At any time.

♪♪

A sinister ring of smoke Looms over downtown chicago.

Physicist simon foster Suspects a fire,

And some part of the city's vast Electrical system is to blame.

♪♪

Foster investigates The grid network

And identifies a possible clue To the source of the smoke.

Power is transmitted At up to 765,000 volts,

But for home use, It must be converted

To a much lower voltage Using a step-down transformer.

outside your house, You might see a utility pole.

on it, You might see a metal box.

That's probably a step-down Transformer,

But unfortunately, whenever You've got high voltages,

Things get hot and these Transformers can break down.

♪♪

Narrator: foster discovers That the chicago transformers

Are tubular.

Though they seem small,

They are exactly The right cylindrical shape

To create the smoke ring In the footage.

You've got a tube,

And all it needs Is a little spark.

Suddenly, you've got fire.

You got a rapid expulsion Of gas.

It's going to produce A smoke ring.

♪♪

Narrator: a single blast Like this is bad enough,

But when more footage of smoke Rings appear across the city,

Experts fear For residents' safety.

♪♪

Wise: the implication being That, time and time again,

transformers are somehow Exploding in chicago --

big things -- Yeah, that's worrying.

♪♪

Narrator: local authorities Are racing to replace

The city's transformers Before they wear out,

But with thousands lining The street,

Another electrical explosion Seems inevitable.

There's electrical transformers On every street corner.

Any one of them can go off At any time.

♪♪

[ siren wails ]

♪♪

narrator: now, cameras Capture an infernal vision.

kourounis: the locals actually Refer to this exact spot

as the doorway to hell, And I completely understand why.

Narrator: a huge pit Opens up out of nowhere,

Belching hate and flame.

What is this? Why is it on fire?

The question is, what is it?

Because it could be Something terrible.

♪♪

Narrator: turkmenistan, A former soviet territory

In central asia.

In the middle Of the karakum desert,

160 miles from the capital city, Ashgabat,

A traveler comes upon Something terrifying --

A 230-foot blazing hole In the ground.

It seems almost like something From another planet.

it literally looks like The gateway to hell.

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: a mysterious hole Suddenly appears in the desert.

Locals fear it's a gateway Between the living and the dead.

♪♪

Legends tell of many portals To the underworld

Hidden in wild places.

♪♪

Medieval christians feared The hell mouth of satan,

A gaping hole Swallowing sinners down

To a world Of eternal punishment.

♪♪

if this is actually The gate to hell,

then I guess It's open for business.

♪♪

Narrator: myths of many cultures Describe volcanoes

As gateways to the underworld.

Geologist sian proctor considers

If this could be A natural explanation

For the burning pit of fire.

there is a lot of volcanic Activity in turkmenistan,

And based on What this looks like,

It's a dropped-in hole, Circular,

With the burning crater below.

This could be volcanic.

But when experts examine The crater in broad daylight,

They find another gaping hole In the volcano theory.

several pieces of evidence

that one would expect From a volcano are missing.

there's no central peak. There's no lava lake.

There's no ash being emitted.

Something's not right.

♪♪

Narrator: scientist journalist Jon farrow discovers

That this fiery crater first Appeared over 45 years ago

When the soviet union Controlled turkmenistan.

He speculates that The pit of fire

Could be a smoldering remnant Of the cold war.

From the 1970s, the soviet union Was developing nuclear weapons

And so was testing them.

I mean, maybe those two Things are linked.

♪♪

Farrow discovers that Between 1969 and 1971,

The soviet union conducted 43 nuclear tests in this region.

In one test alone,

They detonated 165 kilotons Of atomic energy,

Enough to destroy The city of new york.

♪♪

If you're looking for places To test weapons,

The deserts of turkmenistan Are pretty good candidates.

They're quite remote, They're quite secretive.

In the 1970s, this is exactly What the soviet union was doing.

Narrator: But sian proctor's research

Reveals that atomic energy

Always leaves One signature clue.

If this is a nuclear explosion,

We can test for that Because nuclear explosions

Will actually change The structure of the rock.

Material gets sucked up In the fireball,

Mainly sand, and it melts.

When it falls back Down to the earth,

It forms this green, Glass-like material.

We call it trinitite.

Narrator: proctor examines The footage frame-by-frame,

Looking for traces of The distinctive green mineral.

So when we look at this rock Around this crater,

We don't see any evidence Of trinitite here.

Narrator: proctor instead Pinpoints a vital clue

In the way the flames behave.

Proctor: when I look at The video, what I see is fires

That are popping up and burning.

That leaves me to believe That there is some kind of gas

That is burning from below.

♪♪

Narrator: Turkmenistan sits on top

Of over 600-trillion cubic feet Of natural gas,

Enough to fuel the whole u.S. For half a century.

Proctor makes an amazing find In the state archives.

♪♪

Back in 1971, a team of russian Geologists set up a rig here

To start drilling With terrible consequences.

They didn't realize that there Was this big cavity of gas

Below the earth's surface.

Narrator: With a cavern of gas below,

The surface could not support The drill rig,

Which weighed over 60 tons.

Proctor: well, the equipment Collapsed into the cavity,

And suddenly they have all Of this gas that's leaking up

To the surface, and they've Got to do something about it.

♪♪

panicking, the soviets Made a disastrous decision.

♪♪

imagine it's your job To figure out

how to make This situation safe.

there's natural gas Coming out from the ground.

"Oh, I know what I'll do. I'll set it on fire."

and decades later, It's still on fire.

there's no sign of it stopping.

♪♪