Summer, sun, sea, beach? As if not so. Many places on the planet only look idyllic on the surface, but in fact they are death traps. In this collection you will find five picturesque coastal areas where someone will definitely eat you or kill you in some other way.
The Forbidden Island of Sentinel
In the Bay of Bengal of the Indian Ocean, among the Andaman archipelago, there is a small paradise island — the Northern Sentinel. To get on it, you will have to work hard. No local fisherman will ever just ferry anyone there. But even if someone manages to get there by bribing a fisherman, as soon as the traveler sets foot on the sand of the island, the boat will rush away with enviable speed. The answer is simple — most likely the guest will not be able to walk even a dozen meters, as he will be riddled with real arrows. Moreover, he will not even see the evil border guards, they will attack from the jungle, secretly and without warning.
One of the most inhospitable peoples on Earth, the Sentinelese, lives here. No one knows how many of them are actually on the island and why they are so aggressive. Presumably, the aborigines still do not use fire, and malevolence is associated with extremely negative experiences in the past. In this region, the British colonialists did not behave in the most disrespectful way and formed a negative attitude among the locals towards all outsiders, especially pale-faced ones. India, which has jurisdiction over the Northern Sentinel, respects the right of its inhabitants to privacy and does not attempt to assimilate them in any way.
The perfect beach for a post-apocalyptic festival
There is an ideal location in southern Africa for filming the next installment of Mad Max or hosting a crazy festival. If Burning Man hadn’t been held in Black Rock, it would have been located on the Shore of Skeletons. But there are a couple more minor nuances. These sands are so lifeless that any protein-based life form becomes a potential food for several predators at once. Lions, jackals and hyenas wander here, and the waters around are teeming with sharks. It would seem that what should so many carnivores do here? They are attracted to seals, which, in turn, feed on fish, since there are plenty of them in coastal waters.
But even if people can get lost in a crowd of numerous marine mammals near the water, they will still face imminent death from dehydration. There are no sources of fresh moisture for many tens of kilometers around, and rain happens once every few years. Undoubtedly, the surroundings here are very picturesque: endless sands, a stormy ocean and the wrecks of wrecked ships. However, even trying to get here can cost lives. From the continent, the path will lie through not the friendliest countries, where armed conflicts regularly occur. And it’s better not to even try from the sea. The broken hulls of ships lie here for a reason — many of them were knocked off course by the cold current and frequent fogs, and then flew into underwater rocks. By the way, it is almost impossible to sail from the shore on a small boat (for example, a dinghy) due to the constant strong surf.
The slowest death
There are many coral atoll islands in the western Pacific Ocean. They have a bizarre shape, are covered with pleasant-to-touch sand and, in general, outwardly are the epitome of paradise. In addition, it is impossible not to be impressed by the fruits of thousands of years of labor of marine life, who literally laid down their lives to create this beauty. One of these islands has the tempting name Bikini. By the way, it was in honor of several very incendiary beach parties that the famous split swimsuit got its name.
The events were conducted by the American military and led to the fact that it is better not to walk through the local sand without clothes covering the whole body. A little over sixty years ago, the last of 67 nuclear tests was conducted on Bikini, but even after such a period, it is dangerous to be there. Depending on the sampling location, the radiation background on the atoll may exceed six times the maximum allowed for a long-term human stay. Undoubtedly, such a dose will not kill a tourist instantly, but it will provide a whole bunch of cancers in the coming years. The most dangerous thing is to breathe dust lifted from the surface, because getting into the lungs, radioactive particles will have a much greater effect on internal organs.
Perhaps even worse than death
Not all terribly dangerous beaches are located in exotic countries, some are quite in Europe. The picturesque coast of Great Britain near the village of Staithes can attract many tourists. But because of its popularity, as well as “thanks” to the successful coincidence of currents and other climatic factors, it is one of the most poisoned places on Earth. A huge amount of garbage and other pollutants not only made the sea around unsuitable for swimming, but also infected the sand. Getting into the water is fraught with a whole bunch of severe bacterial infections, and a wound received while walking barefoot can severely fester. It is not a fact that the victim will die as a result, but a week of diarrhea or a dozen days of septic fever can make anyone pray to the gods for deliverance.
There are similar “attractions” in many countries of the world. In India, for example, Chowpatty Beach in Mumbai is located. In some of its places, it is categorically impossible not only to swim, but also just to be harmful. And walking along El Gringo beach in the Dominican Republic, you can not only catch a variety of sores, but also get a solid dose of carcinogens and heavy metals. Many local chemical and pharmaceutical companies still dump their waste in the area. Coastal environmental disasters have also occurred in the United States. California’s Poche Beach has been flooded with a huge amount of various automotive and agro-industrial waste for several years in a row. Now environmental organizations will eliminate the consequences for many years.
The Invisible Death
Located east of Australia, Fraser is the largest sandy island in the world. Its nature is quaint and picturesque — the dunes rise to a height of 240 meters and are covered with mangrove and equatorial forests in which outlandish “hanging” lakes hide. Addressed to The Pacific Ocean coast is a single giant beach with a length of more than a hundred kilometers. That’s just beyond the surf line, you should not approach the water. Fraser is home to a large number of cubomedusa, in particular, Irukandji. And this is not the kind of marine life that you want to meet while walking on the sand or enjoying warm water.
The trouble is that these shooters have an almost transparent body and the same tentacles up to a meter long. They are almost invisible in the water and on the sand. Irukandji poison acts rather slowly and at first you ignore or do not notice a completely tolerable injection. However, after a few minutes, a whole extravaganza of paralytic effects begins: severe pain in the head, limb muscles, internal organs, nausea. They are complemented by effects on the nervous system — anxiety, as well as on the cardiovascular system – tachycardia and hypertension. Everything can end with pulmonary edema, brain swelling and death. Australia is generally famous for all kinds of poisonous reptiles, including marine ones. In addition to Fraser, various species of cubomedusa live in the area of all the coasts of this continent.
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