Original subtitles

Narrator: They're watching you.

More than 4,000 satellites Circle the earth.

Every day, they uncover New mysterious phenomena

That defy explanation.

There's something Weird going on here.

It's suspicious.

Narrator: Strange, prehistoric creatures.

Petford: looks like It's got ribs, almost,

Coming out From a central backbone.

Narrator: An abyss that threatens To swallow the landscape.

[ distorted screaming ]

Are the gates of hell Opening up?

Fletcher: The tribes that live in this Area believe in an underworld

Where the dead And evil spirits reside.

They think that this crack

Is the entrance To the underworld.

Narrator: when is a star system Not a star system?

When it's a weird, Unidentified series of lights.

Whatever this phenomena is, It's massive.

Narrator: giants in the jungle Leaving strange symbols.

All of a sudden, you have This very peculiar shape.

Narrator: a missing-person Mystery in michigan.

This is the kind of case That cops dread.

Narrator: and the town From "The twilight zone."

It just seems like A very strange place

To have, you know, People settle down.

Narrator: baffling phenomena, Mysteries from space.

What on earth are they?

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

Captions paid for by Discovery communications

430 miles above frozen siberia,

The pleiades satellite Captures images

Of the largest forest On the planet.

One image shows a vast

And strangely shaped tear In the earth.

What draws your eye instantly Is this very strange,

Almost organic-looking Structure with ribs, almost,

Coming out away From a central backbone.

It almost looks like A tadpole -- like a giant,

Massive tadpole -- In the landscape.

**

Narrator: the monstrous chasm Is in east siberia,

Near the river yana.

This is said to be the coldest Inhabited place on earth.

For centuries, these lands Have been the hunting grounds

Of the nomadic yakut people,

Who survive the minus-40-degree Temperatures.

The locals have learned To live with the cold,

But not with the giant Chasm in the ground.

The people who live in this area Are proud and tough,

And this thing terrifies them.

Narrator: to the yakut,

The weird hole Has mystical qualities.

It is a place of Indescribable terror and death.

It is, they say, The gateway to hell.

Fletcher: The tribes that live in this Area believe in an underworld

Where the dead And evil spirits reside.

They think that this crack

Is the entrance To that underworld.

Narrator: In the still of the night,

Disturbing sounds can be heard

Emanating from the giant pit.

Locals report hearing booming Sounds coming from inside.

And some of the locals Interpret this

As to be sounds that are coming From the underworld.

Narrator: The yakut's beliefs echo

Those of the ancient greeks,

Whose souls entered The place they called hades.

[ distorted screaming ]

In hades, According to the romans,

There could be found Unearthly beasts,

Like the three-headed cerberus.

But hades was merely the gateway

To a far more terrible place.

Beneath hades laid real hell,

Known as "Tartarus,"

The abyss of unspeakable Torture and torment.

When scientists move in To examine the chasm,

They do indeed discover Traces of weird animals --

Mummified carcasses Of horses and bison

From the holocene era,

Even older ice-age Remains of mammoths,

And other creatures time forgot.

But here is the first problem

For scientists Investigating the chasm.

The yakut are an ancient people.

The creatures in the pit Are prehistoric.

But the crater, They believe, is recent.

What's more, it's growing.

It looks weird.

It looks like some kind Of movement

Of earth material.

And the question is, What could do this?

Narrator: to begin with, Scientists consider

The history of the region.

Siberia has a dark, Communist past.

Russian communists Were not above

Experimenting On their own population.

But in siberia,

The communists carried out Terrifying experiments,

Using nuclear explosives For mining.

A nuclear explosion Could certainly explain

The sudden appearance Of a massive crater.

Underground nuclear Explosion produces

A lot of energy, And that can shake up

And disturb the surface Of the earth, for sure.

Narrator: and most soviet Atomic-bomb tests

Happened underground.

Back in the soviet era,

They were so Desperate for energy

That they actually Used nuclear explosions

To unleash some of this Oil and gas.

Narrator: unconcerned By the dangers to human life

Or the possible Catastrophic consequences,

They detonated underground Nuclear devices,

Close to huge deposits Of oil and gas.

Mousseau: the idea would be To loosen up the ground,

But also to heat up The oil and gas

And make it easier to be Pumped out of the ground.

[ man speaking russian ]

Narrator: In the 1970s and '80s,

When prisoners Were still being held

In siberia's nightmarish Forced-labor camps...

[ man speaking russian ]

...The communists carried out

At least seven Nuclear explosions.

Mousseau: but certainly An atomic-bomb blast

Could cause The depression we see here.

Narrator: But the timing's not right.

Fletcher: this crater Started forming in the '60s,

And the blasts that we know Of happened in the '70s.

Narrator: the hole appears

Before the nuclear bombs Are set off.

So, what could explain The strange noises,

The ancient creatures, And ever-widening chasm?

Scientists now believe The answer is to be found

In the ice and in the trees,

Trees which the russians

Have been steadily Chopping down.

The removal of those trees And the removal

Of their roots systems

Opens up a gateway For surface waters

To move down Into the permafrost region.

Narrator: Normally, the icy permafrost

Binds the soil together.

But in summer months, Some of the ice always melts.

Ice is stiff. It's like a sort of strong beam.

Once that's gone, the ground Can start to sag down,

And you can produce Pits and craters

Through the melting Of the permafrost.

Narrator: this ground has been More or less permanently frozen

Since the last ice age --

A tomb to the weird, Long-extinct creatures

Of a different age.

Chopping down trees has led

To a bizarre chain of events.

Lester: if there are fractures That exist in the sub-surface,

All of a sudden,

A lot of material Can go downhill fast.

Brand: this particular feature Started collapsing

Back in the '60s, And ever since then,

It's been eroding back Further and further

At a pretty alarming rate

Of about 60 feet per year.

Narrator: so much for the gaping Hold and the weird creatures.

But what could explain The strange noises

Emanating from the yakut's Gateway to hell?

Brand: What's scary about this

Is that, Locked within the permafrost

Are gas hydrates, Primarily methane.

And as the permafrost Continues to melt,

This methane is released Into the atmosphere.

Narrator: scientists believe That escaping,

Explosive methane gas Could explain the reports

Of strange noises Coming from the chasm.

If it's true, the yakut Are right to be terrified.

There are literally Billions of tons

Of methane trapped In the permafrost here.

Its release could have Devastating consequences.

The locals' fears Are not as irrational

As they first appear.

Recent satellite images suggest That this yawning chasm

May be just one Of many gateways to hell.

There is a disturbing rise in The number of similar features

Scattered across The arctic landscape.

Brand: As permafrost continues to melt Across the polar regions,

I think we'll be seeing A lot more of these.

They're like a canary In the coal mine

That is showing us That there is a danger.

Who knows where it'll hit. It's like a ticking time bomb.

Narrator: still to come, Catch a falling star --

An image released by nasa.

But there's something disturbing

About this newly Discovered galaxy.

And trouble in the lost world.

We know that there are between 70 and 100 tribes in the amazon

That are still secluded.

Could this image be An indication

Of a previously unknown tribe?

Narrator: satellite imaging Is changing the face

Of law enforcement.

In virginia, eyes in the sky Track down a kidnapped girl.

In oregon, they expose Illegal drug activity.

And in byron, michigan, A satellite photo

Helps to solve a cold case

That has baffled cops For a decade.

**

It shows what, at first glance,

Appears to be an ordinary pond.

I can see some sediment On the bottom of the pond,

And I can see, all of a sudden,

Popping up out of the blue,

A rectangular feature.

Narrator: at the time of the Discovery, no one realizes

That this strange, Submerged object holds the key

To the disappearance Of davie lee niles,

A local man who vanished Without a trace

Back in 2006.

Pols: the last place That he was known to have been

Was pete's tavern In byron center.

And that was the last time Anybody saw him.

This guy tells no one Where he's going,

Leaves not a single lead.

This is the kind of case That cops dread.

Pols: his neighbor Reported him missing.

Narrator: a thorough search Yields no clues

To niles' sudden disappearance.

Pols: we contacted His cellphone carrier,

And there had been No activity on his cellphone

Since the 11th of october.

We contacted His banking institution.

There had been no activity On his bank cards,

His checking account, Or anything like that.

The vanishing Is left unresolved.

The family's left Without closure.

They don't even know It davie lee is still alive.

We thought maybe

Somebody had maybe taken him.

Narrator: almost 10 years later, There is still no explanation,

And relatives give up all hope.

We had a little Memorial for him,

Just so his friends Could say goodbye.

You got to do something.

At that point, We probably thought,

"Maybe we'll never find him."

Narrator: The turning point comes

When a man putting up Christmas decorations

Spots the submerged object.

Satellite-image analysis Reveals its true nature.

Marchetti: I see an almost Rectangular feature

That has a linear nature to it, Which tells me

That there's something Artificial occurring there.

Narrator: marchetti Calculates that the object

Is approximately 15 feet long.

Marchetti: I see a denser Accumulation of sediment

At the center of the rectangle,

And it seems to diminish A little bit

Towards the back end And the front end.

And these pieces tell me

That what I'm seeing Is actually a vehicle.

Narrator: but the image Also poses a puzzle

For law-enforcement officers.

It's unique in that There was no tire tracks.

Usually, if we hear on the radio

That there's a car into water,

A pond or a lake,

Usually, it's gonna Be followed by,

"It was involved in an accident" Or something like that.

Narrator: when the police Consult their records,

They find no reports

Of a recent accident In the area.

Analysis of historic Satellite images

Enables law enforcement To work out

How long the car Has been sitting in the pond.

Marchetti: Based on the satellite imagery That I'm viewing,

It looks like this vehicle has Been there for quite some time.

Narrator: the car has been here For so long,

Any tire marks at the scene Have long since faded away.

Deputy sheriff duncan And his team

Decide to investigate the scene.

Duncan: I went out to the location.

**

It appeared to be covered In a lighter-colored silt

And it had -- Did look like a vehicle.

Narrator: when the team Pulls the car from the water,

They discover that it's a faded, 1990 chevy corsica.

And inside it, they find The skeletal remains

Of a human body.

When duncan runs the plates, He gets a hit.

They're registered to none Other than davie lee niles.

[ police radio chatter ]

Duncan: at that point, we began To treat it as a crime scene

Because we had no idea Why a missing person's vehicle

Would be in this deep pond In byron center.

Narrator: after almost a decade Of uncertainty,

It is at least closure For niles' family.

It was an end To a long, long journey.

Yep. We were,

You know, sad at first,

But we were real happy That, finally, we can,

You know, put it to rest.

Narrator: the exact chain Of events that led to niles' car

Going into the pond Is still unknown.

But as satellite Technology improves,

It's likely that many more cases

Will draw on evidence From eyes in the sky.

Fletcher: some people look At an image and see nothing.

Great cops can look Beyond the mundane

And find evidence Hidden in plain sight.

Narrator: coming up, lost tribes And dark secrets in the jungle.

You can't really tell How these tribes

Are going to want to interact With the modern world.

Narrator: The quickbird-2 satellite

Passes over a low mountain ridge

Deep inside the dense Amazon rain forest.

From an altitude of 280 miles,

It captures this image

Seemingly in the middle Of nowhere.

You've got hundreds of miles Of rainforest,

And then all of a sudden, you Have this very peculiar shape.

Narrator: the clearing is in

The remote serra do cachimbo Region of brazil.

Here, there are no towns, No schools,

No factories or hospitals,

No recorded presence Of any human civilization,

Yet the controversial pattern Covers over 2 square miles.

Whatever it is, it's big.

Somebody has obviously Gone to a big effort

To clear this land And make this shape.

It's quite amazing.

Narrator: it's not logging.

Loggers, legal or illegal,

Don't leave shapes like this.

**

Why would somebody create this

Out in the middle of nowhere In the wilderness?

**

Narrator: some analysts Point out the resemblance

Of the shape to a bow and arrow.

There are remote Jungle tribes here

That have had little Or, in some case, no contact

With modern civilization.

We know That there are between 70

And 100 tribes in the amazon

That are still secluded --

No contact to the outside world.

Krueger: We know where most of them are,

But could this image be An indication

Of a previously Unknown habitation?

There could be people Living in places

That we never thought Had been living there before.

Narrator: under pressure From western campaigners,

It's the policy of The brazilian government

To leave groups isolated --

Shut off from Modern civilization.

[ men chanting ]

Some argue this turns humans Into a kind of museum exhibit --

A cruel social experiment

Which denies The world's poorest people

The benefits of progress.

Little is known About the groups,

But they still use tools

Which are among The oldest known to man.

In 2008, when a helicopter Flies near such a group,

Its warriors react violently,

Firing at the chopper With bows and arrows.

The bow and arrow Is a very important piece

Of technology for amazon tribes.

You can't really tell How these tribes

Are going to want to interact With the modern world.

Amazonian, tribal man Wouldn't really be a man

If he didn't know How to use a bow and arrow.

Narrator: But surely this giant symbol Is not the work of tribes.

Cutting a clearing A mile and a half long

Requires advanced tools Like chain saws.

The thing is About isolated tribes,

Generally speaking,

They have very limited Access to steel blades.

But that's the kind Of instrument you'd need

To create that kind Of pattern in the jungle.

**

Narrator: So what else could it be?

The shape looks strange Because of where it is,

In the middle of the wilderness,

But the shape itself Is not that strange.

Similar shapes are seen In thousands of places

All over the world --

Baseball diamonds.

Who would build A baseball diamond

In the middle Of the amazon rainforest?

Actually, a baseball diamond In the middle of the jungle

Is not as crazy As it might sound.

Narrator: astonishingly, A number of baseball diamonds

Are found In remote parts of brazil,

Built, even more bizarrely,

By the japanese.

In the early 1900s,

A large number Of japanese migrants

Arrived to work On brazil's coffee plantations.

And they were baseball crazy.

Today, many of their descendants Still play the game.

Rustic baseball diamonds began To appear near plantations.

This explains the curious fact

That many players on brazil's National baseball team

Have japanese names.

There's just one problem.

So, if it's not A baseball diamond, what is it?

Narrator: Analysis of the surrounding Area provides a possible clue.

14 miles to the west of here, You've got the shells

Of what look like military jets

Found in a large sand pit.

Could there be A military connection here?

Narrator: arguably, The location of the symbol

Has some strategic value.

To military-image analysts,

The bow-and-arrow shape Is a sign

The site could be used For aerial target practice.

Pavelec: If it is a bombing test range,

It helps explain Why it's so isolated.

It's so the pilots Can practice their bomb runs

And dropping actual, Live ordinance

Without destroying things Or killing people.

Narrator: But the shape doesn't resemble A conventional firing range.

What's more, closer examination Reveals small buildings,

Which suggests the site Is not intended for bombing.

Nevertheless, further Investigation does lead

To the brazilian military,

Which has jurisdiction Over this area.

The nature and purpose Of this strange shape

Is an official secret.

The full details of what Goes on here are classified,

But there's been rumors In the past

Of possible nuclear-weapons Testing, black operations.

**

Narrator: officially, brazil's Secret nuclear-weapons program

Was shut down in the '90s.

This strange shape in the middle Of the remote amazon forest,

Visible from space, Remains a mystery.

We're not getting any official Explanation from the government,

So we may never know Exactly what's been going on.

Narrator: coming up...

Kourounis: if you look At satellite images from 2003,

You can clearly see A triangular-shaped island.

Fast-forward to 2015,

The island is gone.

Narrator: the scariest Ghost town on the planet.

Carter: well, if you could get Close enough to this village,

You would see something Out of "The twilight zone."

Narrator: the day nasa's stars Fell to earth.

You can see that the lights Actually move around.

Narrator: Three images taken from space --

Two from hubble and one from The international space station.

**

Three shots of stars Thousands of light-years away --

Or so it seems.

One image is different.

These lights aren't natural,

And they're a lot Closer to earth.

May 2015 --

Astronaut samantha cristoforetti Uploads a photograph

She's taken from The international space station.

At first, it seems unremarkable.

Nasa has released Many incredible images

Of our own galaxy

And of other far-flung Star systems.

But this one is different.

Cristoforetti was pointing Her camera at the earth.

Majevadia: So, what we're looking at here

Is an image that looks like

A long strip

Of lots of bright lights.

Whatever this phenomena Is, it's massive.

Narrator: astronauts are used To seeing the earth at night --

The bright lights Of the world's biggest cities

Linked by thin strings of lights

To smaller towns and suburbs.

But these lights are different.

They don't look Like ground lights.

And what's more, They're nowhere near

Densely populated urban areas.

Scientists struggle To find a natural explanation.

**

Image analyst mark d'antonio Examines the possibility

The lights might be A strange phenomenon

Known as light pillars.

Light pillars are formed By ice crystals in the air

Catching the light from below

And reflecting it back to you.

Narrator: For light pillars to form,

The ice crystals In the air have to be flat.

They're flat and hexagonal,

And when they fall Towards the earth,

They sort of fall Like a feather.

Narrator: to see a light pillar, An observer has to be

At just the right angle To the ice crystals.

At first, you might think,

"Well, maybe it's these guys Seen from above.

Wouldn't they just Look like dots?"

The answer is, "No, they wouldn't."

This column of light That you see here

Is actually just an illusion.

These hexagonal crystals of ice

Reflect the light back to you.

So, we're not actually Seeing a column of light,

We're seeing a shaft of light.

So, if it's not light pillars

That we're seeing In the nighttime image,

What is creating this series Of little light beams

That were captured On this particular photograph?

Narrator: Analysts consider a different Kind of object in the sky.

Flying craft are clearly Visible from space,

But these illuminated Disk shapes

Don't look like airplanes.

When the image was taken,

The I.S.S. Was orbiting Over the south-atlantic ocean.

But marine biologists can think Of no natural phenomenon

That could account For the image.

We know that there's No cities out there

In the middle of the ocean.

Kourounis: if you look At the satellite images

Over a period of a few days,

You can see that the lights Actually move around.

Narrator: when investigators map The precise coordinates

Onto local charts,

The lights form a pattern That exactly matches

The territorial waters Of the falkland islands.

D'antonio: This is the smoking gun.

Muller-karger: The only thing that it can be Are ships with lights.

The only thing that they Can be doing is fishing.

Narrator: The theory sounds convincing.

At night, if you shine Bright lights,

Certain species will be Attracted to the surface.

The plankton Comes to the surface.

The smaller fish Go after the plankton.

The larger fish Go after the smaller fish.

The squid go after The even larger fish.

Narrator: But there's a problem.

There are too many lights.

Fishing in these waters Is strictly limited,

And very few licenses Are issued.

These lights are not stars Or cities or ufos.

They're pirates.

Kourounis: There are far more lights

Than you would imagine For those licenses.

So, we've got hundreds, If not thousands,

Of unlicensed, unregulated Fishermen out there

Just stripping The ocean of fish --

Completely illegal.

Narrator: piracy on the high Seas is organized crime

That's big business.

One night's catch of squid Can net up to $72,000.

**

These people could be taking

300,000 tons of illegal fish From the oceans

Every single year.

Narrator: for centuries, Fighting piracy

Has been An almost-impossible task.

But satellites are providing The world's navies

With a new weapon.

For better or for worse,

It seems that, In the 21st century,

There's nowhere to hide.

It's really incredible That we can't police

A fishing fleet on the ground,

But from 250 miles up in space,

We can catch the illegal Activity just like that.

Narrator: still to come, The town that wasn't there.

Carter: It's almost like a void.

You don't see any people.

And I think that is The most frightening thing

About this village.

Narrator: Satellites keep a 24-hour watch

On the world's most isolated And dangerous nation,

North korea.

This night photograph from space Reveals the incredible contrast

Between the tyrannical Socialist regime

And its democratic, capitalist Neighbor to the south.

You've got almost The entire history

Of the last 50 years In that one image.

Narrator: The bright lights in south korea

Are from a thriving, High-tech, 24-hour economy.

Across the border In north korea,

Nothing but poverty.

Most of the population

Has little or no access To electricity.

Carter: It's almost like a void.

You don't see any people,

Any activity whatsoever.

Narrator: defense analysts Keep a close eye

On the few lights Visible at night.

There's two little exceptions. One is the capital,

Where the elite live, P'yongyang.

And then, just near the border,

There's this little Prick of light.

**

This lit area Is right on the north side

Of the demilitarized zone.

What on earth is going on?

Narrator: the pinpoint of light Comes from a tiny settlement

That the north korean state Calls "Peace village."

The regime claims It has a thriving population

Of 200 happy, prosperous Farming families.

But curiously, it lies inside The demilitarized zone

Between north and south korea.

150 miles long, 2 1/2 miles wide,

The so-called "Demilitarized zone"

Is, in fact, the most heavily Fortified border on earth.

French: No one crosses that area.

Its borders Are completely sealed.

And very few people go in. Nobody much comes out.

Narrator: The mysterious peace village

Is eyed with deep suspicion

By farmers living south Of the border.

The north korean state Claims the peace village

Is a typical example

Of how perfect life is Under socialism --

A model of material wealth And contentment.

But according To the north koreans,

The peace village is one Of their many collective farms,

And happy workers Are living there

And growing vegetables to feed The north korean people.

Satellite footage shows This looks like a normal town.

It's got a school, Apartment buildings, a hospital.

I mean, it just seems like A very strange place

To have, you know, People settle down.

It's suspicious.

Narrator: when observers take A closer look at the village,

Something is not quite right.

Carter: well, if you could get Close enough to the village,

You would see something Out of "The twilight zone."

You can see with binoculars There's no glass in the windows.

There's nobody living there.

Narrator: the happy farmers and Their families are invisible.

For some reason, The north korean government

Is pretending that this A fully functioning community

Right there on the border. Why?

Carter: why would north korea Spend all this money

If they didn't have Some other subversive action?

And I think that is The most frightening thing

About this village, About peace village.

I think it's far from peace.

[ speaking korean ]

Narrator: analysts fear The fake, empty village

Might be a front for some kind Of covert military activity.

When you have buildings In a town,

You instantly have something That's concealable.

You know, you can Hide stuff there.

Could this be That they're using this

As a decoy For a military operation?

Narrator: north korea Has long been preparing for war

Against south korea And her allies.

The south koreans Have detected giant tunnels

Being built under The d.M. Zone by north koreans.

And when I say "Giant tunnels," I mean giant tunnels

That you could move Tanks through.

And this, obviously, Concerns them more

That, somewhere On the southern side,

A hole could suddenly pop up

And a north korean tank Pour out of it.

Narrator: four tunnels Have been detected so far.

One found just 3 miles From the village

Is big enough for 30,000 Fully equipped troops

To storm through every hour.

If peace village is hiding A substantial military presence,

You would think we'd have Seen some signs of that.

Narrator: given the size And all-pervasive presence

Of the north korean Intelligence agency,

Some claim that communist spies Are using the village.

I think that this facility

Is definitely used and utilized

By the north koreans to spy

On south korean activity In the dmz zone.

Narrator: these apartment blocks Are likely to be used

For electronic surveillance,

More spy village Than peace village.

Capps: it's entirely reasonable To think

That just a few people Could be manning

A great deal Of observation equipment

In those apartment buildings.

Narrator: the north korean state Seems intent on harassing,

Spying on, and annoying Their neighbor.

The village is rigged With gigantic loudspeakers

Aimed across the border.

[ man speaking korean ]

They broadcast A constant barrage of boasts

By communist leader kim jong-un

And threats to destroy

The south korean capital Of seoul.

[ man speaking korean ]

At times of tension --

Which, we've had, lately, Quite a few of those --

These loudspeakers Are turned on at full volume

For 24 hours at a time

And are absolutely deafening.

[ man speaking korean ]

Narrator: the potential For subversive military

And intelligence activity Is there,

But analysts believe The so-called "Peace village"

Is a sinister propaganda tool

For the tyrannical Socialist regime.

French: it appears to be A propaganda effort,

To try and show south koreans And the world at large

That, you know, life is great Within north korea.

Carlin: this is all part of Using things that are physical

And that you can look At as an example

That somehow demonstrates Another piece of evidence

That our system Is better than yours.

The entire purpose Of peace village

Is to show an idyllic life In north korea

That doesn't even exist.

Narrator: from space, the whole World can see the sad truth.

The charade of peace village Is a dismal failure.

And yet, it carries on.

When the north koreans say, "This is a farming village,"

They know that you Don't believe it.

This is a regime That lies about everything.

We know it's fake. They know we know it's fake.

But they can't admit it, So they just have to keep going.

Narrator: coming up...

The disappearance of an island

Is a dramatic change.

Something quite big Would have to cause it.

Narrator: december 2015.

A satellite mapping image

Of a remote expanse Of the pacific ocean

Shows something strange.

The japanese-owned island Of minami-tori-shima

Has completely disappeared.

**

Kourounis: if you look At satellite images from 2003,

You can clearly see A triangular-shaped island.

But fast-forward to 2015,

And that same area, The island is gone.

Narrator: in its place is simply A patch of dark sea.

The disappearance Of an entire island

Can sometimes be the result

Of a cataclysmic volcanic event.

The disappearance of an island Is a dramatic change.

Something quite big Would have to cause it.

**

The island Of krakatoa disappeared

In a massive volcanic eruption.

Narrator: The island known as krakatoa

Was actually the cone Of a large volcano.

In 1883, It erupted so violently,

6 cubic miles of rock and ash Shot into the air,

Turning day into night Across the java sea

And the indian ocean.

But seismic data from 2015

Shows no sign Of any such eruption

Happening anywhere in the area.

**

In the absence Of a natural explanation

For the island's disappearance,

Experts consider the possibility

It might have been Deliberately destroyed.

The island of nuatu In the south pacific

Was almost entirely Removed or destroyed

By the mining Of the fertilizer guano.

That might be What happened here.

There's a phenomenon known as Mountaintop removal mining.

They remove the top Of a mountain

To get at the minerals That are inside.

Why not do that with an island?

[ explosions ]

Narrator: But what could be so valuable

It's worth wiping An entire island off the map?

Astonishingly, in 2012,

Geologists discovered Minami-tori-shima

Was home to incredible riches.

Samples of dirt taken From around the island

Were found to contain precious Rare-earth elements

Used in the manufacture Of computer chips

And other high-tech goods.

Finding rare-earth elements In these quantities

Is a potential Game-changer for japan.

Narrator: The seam they've discovered In the area is massive.

There are enough to keep japan In rare-earth metals

For the next two centuries.

Narrator: but geological records Reveal a flaw

In the mining theory --

The rare-earth metals Are not actually

on the island Of minami-tori-shima.

They're buried about 20,000 feet

Below the surface Of the surrounding ocean.

Any miners wanting To exploit the minerals

Around minami-tori-shima

Would need the island as a base.

Mining cannot explain Its disappearance.

The theory sounds plausible,

Except for one Mysterious anomaly.

Woman: The weird thing is, there's A weather station on the island,

And it's still Transmitting data.

It wouldn't be doing that If the island were underwater.

So, the island Still has to be there,

We just can't see it.

Narrator: perhaps Minami-tori-shima itself

Has not vanished,

Just photographic Evidence of it.

Some believe a shadowy Government agency has decided

That it should no longer exist On satellite images.

Why would anybody Take something off a map?

Well, the reason is political, Or it's military.

Man: satellite imagery Is being degraded

By digital means as we speak.

Whatever they were doing the day It was obscured

Is related to military

And rare-earth metals.

It is so sensitive That it requires covering up.

The japanese special forces Are there now.

It is now imperative To guard that island.

It's worth a fortune.

Narrator: the intervention Of special forces

Lends weight to the idea

The image Was deliberately altered

To conceal Clandestine operations.

To date, the japanese government Has not issued any statement

Regarding its activities On the island.