A drone dropped to the bottom of The Great Blue Hole got attacked by a creature of the deep on its way down. I know, that sounds like some kind of mystical or eerie location from a film, but it’s actually the name of a real marine sinkhole. Explorer Jacques Cousteau made the site famous, and it’s now a popular spot for divers. However, there is some mystery around it, as humans have a weird fascination with big holes and wanting to get to the bottom of them.
In the past, expeditions to the bottom have uncovered the remains of two people who died there, along with items like a GoPro and plastic waste. Truly exploring The Great Blue Hole isn’t simple. When a pair of submarines headed down there in 2018, they found a bustling aquatic life. But at a certain depth, everything seems to disappear. At about 90 meters, there is a layer of hydrogen sulfide, beyond which the water becomes much darker and devoid of life.
A YouTube video shows footage captured by a contraption made up of dive weights, lights, and a GoPro. One of the main concerns was how the sharks down there would react to the drone. In the clip, a shark can be seen circulating before it suddenly vanishes. Then, in an absolute jump scare, it quickly reappears and smashes into the camera. The drone is thrown around, giving viewers a bit of travel sickness, and completely knocks off the controller’s orientation.
“The shark just blitzed us,” said the operator, as they appeared frightened the creature would destroy the device. However, it seems to have made it away unscathed—the shark was just not that bothered about a lump of metal. In another part of the footage, the contraption uses grabbers to pick up a plastic bag, retrieving it from littering the ocean.
The GoPro creepily captured the stark contrast between The Great Blue Hole from above and below the layer of hydrogen sulfide. The water above teems with life and is far more visible, whereas below lies a disturbing graveyard, barren of light and activity. Essentially, it seems to be little more than a home for the deceased husks of once-living things that had unfortunately fallen into the depths.
