Bermuda Triangle Mystery Solved? 5 Mysterious Disappearances in the Infamous Triangle

Incidents in the Bermuda Triangle have made headlines since Vincent Gaddis coined the term in February 1964, attributing any ships or airplanes that have gone missing to the region's supposedly paranormal properties. The waters surrounded by Miami, Puerto Rico and Bermuda has claimed many aircraft and sea vessels and continues to seize more victims up to the present time. Here are five of the Bermuda Triangle's most famous disappearing acts:

1918: USS Cyclops Vanishes With 306 on Board

The U.S. battleship USS Cyclops had been fueling British ships in the south Atlantic after servicing the Atlantic fleet between the East Coast and the Caribbean. On February 16, 1918, it had been traveling from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to Barbados and had reached its destination early the following month. That was the USS Cyclops' last known voyage before it disappeared along with its 306 crew members and passengers. The Naval Historical Center said, "It is one of the sea's unsolved mysteries."

1948: Star Tiger Bound for Bermuda Disappears

A Star Tiger passenger plane with 30 people on board was headed for Bermuda from England when it vanished in January 1948. Upon investigation of England's Civil Air Ministry, it was found that a ship, the SS Troubadour, had spotted a low-flying plane between Bermuda and Delaware Bay. Speculation that this could be the Star Tiger also points out that it would have been dangerously off course. The MacMillan Committee of the Civil Air Ministry could not explain its disappearance, stating, "There would accordingly appear be no grounds for supposing that Star Tiger fell into the sea in consequence of having been deprived of her radio, having failed to find her destination, and having exhausted her fuel."

1963: The Sulphur Queen Goes Up in Smoke

February 3, 1963 marked the disappearance of the Sulphur Queen, a 523-foot tanker that carried sulfur. According to Time magazine, the last radio report sent by the Sulphur Queen 230 miles southeast of New Orleans. A couple of weeks later, debris from the ship washed up on a Florida beach. The Coast Guard believes that the vessel was no longer seaworthy and had possibly exploded while at sea.

2008: Trislander's Last Trip

From Santiago, a Britten-Norman Islander, also known as three-engine Trislander, charted a course to New York City on December 15, 2008 with 12 people on board. Half an hour after takeoff, it disappeared from the radar, and all communication was lost. Despite extensive search operations by the U.S. Coast Guard, no trace of the aircraft was ever found.

2015: The SS El Faro Was Hunted by a Hurricane

The most recent Bermuda Triangle disappearance is described as one of the worst in three decades. The 790-foot container ship SS El Faro left Jacksonville (Florida) headed for Puerto Rico on October 1, 2015. With 33 crew members on board, it carried a large number of containers, trailers, and vehicles. Hundreds of miles away, a tropical storm intensified into a hurricane, all the while moving closer to circle the SS El Faro. All communications were cut off before the hurricane was over. Weeks passed before the ship was located 15,000 feet in the Atlantic with no sign that its crew was ever there.