Death lurks on these islands – also in Germany

Don’t be fooled: Even behind paradisiacal island scenes with turquoise water, palm trees on the beach and tropical rainforests, incredible dangers can lurk, which often end in death on the following islands…

Idyllic island scenery invites you to dream and not to fear. But on the following islands you should not be distracted by paradisiacal beaches, palm trees and white sand. Because dangers lurk here – especially for humans.

North Sentinel Island

Such is the case on North Sentinel Island – an island in the Indian Ocean that has cut itself off from the rest of the world for good reason…

North Sentinel Island is only 60 square kilometers in size, but it is still really dangerous – even life-threatening. Because the approximately 50 Sentinelese who live on the island chase away or kill people who dare to enter their kingdom. This happened most recently in 2018 when American missionary John Allen Chau was killed with arrows following warnings.

For more than 50,000 years, the Sentinelese have lived in complete isolation on the island as one of the last Stone Age peoples in the world. Since 1996, the island with a radius of three nautical miles has also been declared a restricted area by the Indian government. And that’s a good thing: because people from outside bring in new pathogens that the immune system of the residents can’t fight off.

Queimada Grande off Brazil

Queimada Grande is an island off the coast of Brazil and is one of the most dangerous places in the world. The reason for this is not people shooting arrows, but lots of poisonous snakes. An above-average number of island lance vipers live there – a highly poisonous species of snake from the viper family. After too many deadly snake bites, the island was declared a nature reserve in 1984 and all access was forbidden.

Ramree Island in Myanmar

Ramree Island is an island in Myanmar that is also called “Island of Horror”. That’s what the place has been called since a massacre in World War II. At that time, around 800 Japanese soldiers were killed by crocodiles in the dense mangrove swamps. Historians doubt the high number of victims, but the Guinness Book of Records lists the incident as “the greatest disaster animals have ever caused to humans”.

The volcanic island of Surtsey

Surtsey is a volcanic island formed after a series of eruptions, lying in the Atlantic Ocean about 30 kilometers off the south coast of Iceland. The island is still relatively young, because the underwater volcano only allowed the island to surface in 1963 (picture).

The volcanic island of Surtsey (left in the picture) was formed by lava and deposits that were pushed to the sea surface by the volcanic eruption. Only researchers are allowed on the island. The reason for this is not only the danger emanating from a volcanic island …

Because the young volcanic island offered scientists the unique opportunity to research plant growth and the colonization of insects, birds and other animals without human influence. For this reason, the island was declared a closed nature reserve after its creation and has also been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since July 2008.

Volcanic Farallon Islands off San Francisco

As an attraction off the coast of San Francisco, 43 km west of the Golden Gate, lie the volcanic Farallon Islands. Unfortunately, the volcanic islands and rocks in the Farallones Gulf are also known as the Farallon Island Nuclear Waste Dump. Because until the 1970s, radioactive waste was dumped into the sea there, which affected the fishery and the protected area.

To this day, the contaminated material lies on the seabed – with no intention of recovering it. Because the removal would be associated with a higher risk for people and nature than leaving the radioactive waste there. Except for scientific research stations, the Farallon Islands are uninhabited.

Although no people live on the Farallon Islands, there are countless animals. Because the islands offer a protected habitat for many seabirds and waders with nesting opportunities. In addition, a large population of sea lions has settled on the islands – which in turn attract other animals: great white sharks.

Gruinard Islands in the Atlantic

Gruinard Island in the Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of Scotland attracts few people despite its picturesque landscapes. Bioweapons testing during World War II, when sheep were exposed to the anthrax pathogen, is to blame. The animals died just a few days later. After the war, bacterial spores were discovered in the soil and the island was closed.

In 1986, an attempt was made to “detoxify” the contaminated island with formaldehyde. In 1990, the Scottish Government classified Gruinard Island as habitable again when test sheep grazed on the island and showed no symptoms of poisoning even after a long time. Still, Gruinard Island is not a popular holiday destination…

The 23 islands of Bikini Atoll

Consisting of 23 islands in the Pacific Ocean, Bikini Atoll became famous in 1946 when nuclear weapons were tested there by the US military. The tests continued until 1958 and made the islands uninhabitable. A total of 67 atomic bombs were detonated – including a hydrogen bomb, the explosive power of which was stronger than expected and corresponded to about 1000 Hiroshima bombs.

The radioactive radiation was so high from the tests that neighboring atolls were also contaminated. Before the nuclear test ranges, Bikini Atoll was inhabited. The inhabitants were resettled, but with the promise of being able to return to their homeland later…

But even decades later, increased radioactivity was detected in the island’s drinking water and agricultural products. In 2009, the US government declared that the region was no longer at risk from residual radiation.

Saba, an island of the Netherlands Antilles

Saba is one of the smallest islands in the Netherlands Antilles and is located in the eastern Caribbean. The island is a tiny paradise with breathtaking nature such as the species-rich Saba National Park. Nevertheless, danger lurks: in the weather. Because in the past 150 years, the island has been hit by hurricanes more often than any other region in the world.

Miyake-jima volcanic island

The approximately 3,800 residents of the Japanese volcanic island of Miyake-jima had to be evacuated after the last eruption in 2000. Above all, the large amounts of sulfur dioxide that continued to flow out of the crater after the eruption were the reason for this measure. In 2005 people were able to return. However, on the advice of the government, they now carry a respirator with them at all times.

The “haunted island” of Poveglia

The so-called “haunted island” Poveglia is located in a lagoon of Venice. The island is considered a cursed ghost place. It is said that the island is plagued by sick and mentally disturbed people who have been held in the psychiatric hospital there for years.

The island of Poveglia has been uninhabited for over 50 years and is closed for security reasons, the old clinic is dilapidated.

Rocky island of La Gaiola in the Bay of Naples

The tiny rocky island of La Gaiola in the Bay of Naples is also cursed, it seems. Since the 20th century, all owners of La Gaiola have been either murdered, kidnapped, committed suicide or suffered accidents. Since 1978, the “damned island” has been slowly decaying and looking even more haunted with the abandoned ruins.

This article was written by Natalie Cada

The original of this post “Death lurks on these islands – also in Germany” comes from teleshow.