Strange and inexplicable things have happened on the island of Barsa-Kelmes. What great secret does the thick fog surrounding this island conceal?
Of the more than 1,000 islands of varying sizes in the Aral Sea of Central Asia, none is as mysterious and unusual as Barsa-Kelmes.
In the Kazakh language, Barsa-Kelmes means “island of no return .” What makes this island, once 133 square kilometers ( as of 1980), one of the world’s most mysterious places, even though the Soviet Union deployed troops, aircraft, and tanks to try and decipher its secrets, but all efforts proved fruitless?
Unexplained phenomena
Legend has it that in the 13th century, the inhabitants of Barsa-Kelmes Island were forced to flee to escape the massacre by the Mongol army. After a short time, they returned to the island and were surprised to find a strange change; the landscape appeared as if decades had passed. Ultimately, the islanders only stayed on the mysterious island for a few months before moving elsewhere to settle.
To this day, Barsa-Kelmes remains a deserted place. The last inhabitants of the island left decades ago.
In Barsa-Kelmes, one finds only a strange land shrouded in thick fog, where bizarre and inexplicable events are said to occur. These strange occurrences are so frequent that the island’s inhabitants have called it “a gateway to another dimension.”
Map of Barsa-Kelmes island in 1853. (Source: Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, London).
Let’s see what strange things happened on this island of no return.
Firstly, Barsa-Kelmes is believed to be home to strange creatures , as if they didn’t come from Earth but from another dimension. Locals claim to have seen creatures resembling giant birds flying around the island, or large sea snakes swimming in the waters surrounding the island, and sometimes even gigantic “sea monsters” with long necks lurking in the thick fog.
Even those who ever ventured to explore the island mysteriously disappeared. They never returned after entering that “forbidden land.”
Not only is it believed to be home to monstrous creatures, and not only does it “swallow” people in its thick fog, but the island of Barsa-Kelmes also renders all modern human equipment ineffective.
As they approached the island, their watches suddenly stopped working, the compass malfunctioned, and the compass needle spun wildly, making it impossible to determine direction. Even more astonishing, they felt as if time was sometimes passing very slowly, and at other times very quickly.
Exploration tent on Barsa-Kelmes island, 1848.
One of the strange events that led to intervention by the Soviet government was the incident that occurred in 1959.
After years of experiencing warmer seasons than the surrounding islands and areas, in 1959, Barsa-Kelmes Island suffered an exceptionally harsh winter. Some indigenous Kazakhs living near the island thought Barsa-Kelmes might be an ideal place to freeze their previously caught seafood, so they ventured into the area despite warnings from their village chief.
However, the harsh winter passed, and the warm spring arrived, yet they still hadn’t returned home. Relatives organized a large-scale search, but after many days without any sign of the missing, they reported it to the authorities.
The Soviet Union joined the investigation: deploying aircraft and tanks, but the mystery remained a mystery.
The Soviet government then dispatched a helicopter to scour the area, searching for the missing people on Barsa-Kelmes Island. However, as the aircraft flew into thick fog, the cockpit equipment malfunctioned and gradually failed. The two pilots were forced to make an emergency landing.
The last words heard on their radio during the emergency report were that they saw elliptical objects appearing dimly in the thick fog. Shortly afterward, radio communication between the command base and the helicopter went completely silent.
After the helicopter completely disappeared into the thick fog of the strange island, the Soviet Union deployed a tank with a long cable attached, advancing into the area of the bizarre island.
The reconnaissance team on the tank was ordered to maintain constant communication as they advanced into the thick fog. However, something strange and terrifying happened again. The radio signal went silent once more after the tank entered the fog.
Illustrative image.
It wasn’t until they pulled the tank back using cables that it was revealed to be completely empty inside. The entire tank looked as if it were covered in a layer of ice.
The suspected samples were all sent to a modern laboratory in Moscow for testing; however, the scientists found nothing unusual, such as foreign substances, objects, or any crucial clues to aid the investigation.
When the strange phenomena within the thick fog surrounding Barsa-Kelmes Island could not be explained, speculation arose about UFOs and alien bases.
Russian UFO researcher Vadim Chernobrov, after examining old documents related to unexplained phenomena at Barsa-Kelmes, suggests that the fog is actually a shield protecting some kind of secret base inside the island.
This fog has the ability to disable electronic devices, thus preventing unwanted intrusion from the outside.
Illustration.
What has become of those who ventured to that island from which they never returned? What great secret lies hidden within the thick fog? Is Barsa-Kelmes a secret alien base, or is it a man-made creation concealing some colossal secret?… All these questions remain unanswered.
Barsa-Kelmes, known as the ” Bermuda Triangle ” of Central Asia.
The strange and inexplicable occurrences on this island are not limited to ancient legends. In the latter half of the 20th century, it became fertile ground for modern conspiracy theories.
Reports of paranormal activity, including mysterious plane crashes and UFO sightings, have turned the island into Central Asia’s own “Bermuda Triangle.”
Publications such as the Soviet magazine “Tekhnika Molodyozhi” also published fascinating stories about the island during this time, including tales of time distortion, malfunctioning compasses, and UFO sightings. These stories were also frequently recounted by local fishermen, further fueling public fascination with Barsa-Kelmes.
Barsa-Kelmes of today
Today, Barsa-Kelmes is no longer an isolated island; instead, its landscape has been replaced by an arid desert, home to scorpions, spiders, and snakes.
Despite the dramatic changes in the landscape, locals still refer to it as an ‘island’. Barsa-Kelmes, though no longer in its original form, remains a place of significant importance in the local consciousness.
The Barsa-Kelmes Nature Reserve (established in 1939) is a wildlife sanctuary on the island of Barsa-Kelmes.
