Strange Evidence (2017–…): Season 2, Episode 1 - Freak of the Deep - full transcript
Deep sea explorers discover an unknown monster thousands of feet beneath the ocean. Killer fog threatens a town in the American Midwest. A truck spontaneously explodes on a busy freeway.
Narrator: WORLDWIDE, 6 BILLION
CAMERAS ARE WATCHING US.
ON OUR STREETS, AT WORK, AND IN OUR HOMES,
THEY CAPTURE THINGS THAT SEEM IMPOSSIBLE.
IT DEFIES THE LAWS OF PHYSICS.
Kays: AW, THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE, MAN.
Narrator: EXPERTS CARRY
OUT FORENSIC ANALYSIS
OF THESE UNUSUAL EVENTS.
THERE'S GOT TO BE SOME
EXPLANATION FOR WHAT'S GOING ON.
[ SCREAMING ]
[ HORN HONKING ]
Narrator: COMING UP... HIGHWAY HELLFIRE.
SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION ON THE FREEWAY.
IT'S A GIANT FIREBALL.
IT LOOKS LIKE A SPECIAL EFFECT,
BUT THIS IS TERRIFYINGLY REAL.
Narrator: BEAST FROM THE ABYSS.
A DRILL TEAM ENCOUNTERS AN UNDERWATER ALIEN
IN THE OCEAN DEPTHS.
Kays: THIS CREATURE DOESN'T
LOOK LIKE ANYTHING ELSE
I'VE EVER SEEN... MORE LIKE AN ALIEN
THAN ANY CREATURE FROM A TEXTBOOK.
Narrator: AND A KILLER FOG
SPREADS THROUGH AN ILLINOIS TOWN.
Pojman: IF YOU GET CAUGHT IN THIS CLOUD,
YOUR CHANCES OF SURVIVAL ARE NEXT TO ZERO.
Narrator: BIZARRE PHENOMENA.
MYSTERIES CAUGHT ON CAMERA.
WHAT'S THE TRUTH BEHIND
THIS "STRANGE EVIDENCE"?
♪♪
A TRAFFIC CAMERA IN CHINA, AND A
TRUCK SPONTANEOUSLY EXPLODES.
JUST AN ENORMOUS EXPLOSION.
IT'S A COMPLETELY HEART-STOPPING MOMENT.
Narrator: INVESTIGATORS SIFT
THE WRECKAGE FOR CLUES
ABOUT WHAT CAUSED THIS FREEWAY FIREBALL.
WE'VE ALL SEEN COLLISIONS, BUT
NEVER AN EXPLOSION LIKE THIS.
♪♪
Narrator: HANGZHOU, ONE OF
CHINA'S MOST CONGESTED CITIES.
THERE'S 7 MILLION PEOPLE
AND 2.5 MILLION CARS.
JULY 17, 2017.
ROAD CAMERAS ARE KEEPING
TABS ON A NORMAL RUSH HOUR
WHEN ONE CAPTURES A BIZARRE EVENT.
♪♪
THIS IS STRAIGHT OUT OF
A SUMMER ACTION MOVIE.
WE SEE A TRUCK, COMING NOT
AT A SUPER HIGH RATE OF SPEED,
COLLIDE WITH A TRUCK THAT
SEEMS TO BE PARKED ON A HIGHWAY.
AND THEN A SPECTACULAR EXPLOSION HAPPENS.
♪♪
Narrator: ROAD ACCIDENTS
ARE WIDESPREAD IN CHINA,
KILLING OVER 250,000 PEOPLE A YEAR.
BUT NORMAL COLLISIONS DON'T
RESULT IN A MASSIVE FIRESTORM.
THE SCALE OF THE BLAST BAFFLES EXPERTS.
IT LOOKS LIKE A SPECIAL EFFECT,
BUT THIS IS TERRIFYINGLY REAL.
Bartolo: AMAZINGLY, NOBODY
WAS HURT IN THIS EXPLOSION,
BUT YOU COULD EASILY
IMAGINE A DIFFERENT OUTCOME.
Narrator: PROFESSOR OF
CHEMISTRY ANDREA SELLA
EXAMINES THE FOOTAGE.
HE SPECULATES THAT THE MYSTERY EXPLOSION
MAY HAVE BEEN CAUSED BY
A DEADLY CHEMICAL CARGO.
FOR ME, THE PRINCIPAL
QUESTION THAT'S IN MY MIND IS,
"WHAT'S ONBOARD THAT VEHICLE?"
THE OBVIOUS THING THAT
SPRINGS TO MIND IS NITROGLYCERIN,
THE GREAT EXPLOSIVE THAT
IS AT THE HEART OF DYNAMITE.
♪♪
Narrator: NITROGLYCERIN IS MADE
UP OF UNSTABLE MOLECULES.
THEY BURN QUICKLY, CREATING INTENSE HEAT
AND RAPIDLY EXPANDING GAS.
THE RESULT IS DEVASTATING.
IT'S A CONTACT EXPLOSIVE.
A PHYSICAL SHOCK IS ENOUGH TO SET IT OFF.
CHINA USES VAST
QUANTITIES OF THIS EXPLOSIVE
TO EXTRACT METALS AND MINERALS.
ALL OF OUR MINING INDUSTRY IS
REALLY DRIVEN BY EXPLOSIVES,
BECAUSE THAT'S HOW YOU
BREAK THE ROCKS APART.
♪♪
Narrator: PYROTECHNICS SPECIALIST
MIKE SANSOM WANTS TO SEE
IF NITROGLYCERIN'S EXPLOSIVE PROPERTIES
MATCH THE FIREBALL CAUGHT ON CAMERA.
SO, THIS HERE IS NITROGLYCERIN.
IT'S A PRIMARY HIGH EXPLOSIVE.
IT'S IMPACT- AND FRICTION-SENSITIVE,
AND WHEN IT DETONATES, IT GOES
AT ABOUT 7,000 METERS A SECOND.
LET'S GIVE IT A GO.
Narrator: WITH A SUBSTANCE AS
POWERFUL AS NITROGLYCERIN,
SANSOM DELIVERS THE TINIEST
OF DROPLETS TO THE TEST PAD...
JUST 1/480 OF A FLUID OUNCE.
Sansom: I'M GONNA HIT
IT WITH A HAMMER TO SEE
IF THIS IMPACT CAN SET IT OFF.
OH!
♪♪
I MEAN, THE FORCE OF THAT
WENT STRAIGHT THROUGH ME.
IT JUST BLEW UP.
I MEAN, IT BLEW IT TO SMITHEREENS.
Narrator: BUT SANSOM
DETECTS A KEY DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN THIS EXPLOSION AND
THE MYSTERY BLAST IN THE FOOTAGE.
Sansom: IT'S ALMOST LIKE
THE VIDEO, BUT NOT QUITE.
THERE WERE NO FLAMES, AND THERE'S NO SMOKE.
SO WHAT WAS IT?
IT'S GOT TO BE SOMETHING ELSE.
♪♪
Narrator: MATERIAL SCIENTIST
KISHORE HARI SPOTS A CLUE
IN THE FOOTAGE... DEBRIS
COMING OUT OF THE TRUCK.
Hari: WHAT SEEMS TO BE
COMING OUT ARE BITS OF PAPER.
AND THAT'S REALLY UNUSUAL BECAUSE,
EVEN THOUGH PAPER IS FLAMMABLE,
WE DON'T THINK OF PAPER AS EXPLODENT.
Narrator: WHEN IMAGE ANALYST
CONOR McCOURT EXAMINES
FOOTAGE OF THE AFTERMATH,
HE IDENTIFIES AN INTRIGUING CLUE
IN THE CARGO OF THE FIRE-RAVAGED TRUCK.
IF WE LOOK AT THE VIDEO FOOTAGE,
WE SEE CONTAINERS ON
THE BACK OF THE TRUCK...
VERY SUSPICIOUS.
SMOKING CONTAINERS HERE.
PAINT CONTAINER, ALL CHARRED.
WHAT I SUSPECT IS THAT THERE'S
ANOTHER MATERIAL BACK THERE,
WHICH WOULD MAKE SENSE
TO BE IN THE BACK OF A TRUCK
THAT'S CARRYING PAINT, AND
THAT WOULD BE PAINT THINNER.
Narrator: STRANGELY, NEITHER
PAINT NOR PAINT THINNER
ARE COMBUSTIBLE,
BUT THERE'S A BYPRODUCT
OF THEM THAT CAN BE.
♪♪
WITH PAINT OR OTHER MATERIALS
THAT INVOLVE VOLATILE COMPOUNDS,
THEY RELEASE GAS FROM THE LIQUID.
AND THAT VAPOR CAN BE
FLAMMABLE A LOT OF TIMES.
IT'S NOT SO DIFFERENT FROM
HOLDING A TANK OF GASOLINE.
IT'S NOT THE GASOLINE
ITSELF THAT'S COMBUSTIBLE.
IT'S THE GASOLINE VAPOR.
IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING FLAMMABLE
IN THE BACK OF YOUR TRUCK,
SOME KIND OF FLAMMABLE LIQUID,
IF IT'S VERY HOT BACK THERE,
IT CAN START TO OFF-GAS.
Sella: YOU CAN IMAGINE
THAT ON A HOT, SUNNY DAY,
IF THE SOLVENT BEGAN TO LEAK OUT,
YOU COULD QUICKLY REACH A
REALLY SATURATED ATMOSPHERE
INSIDE THE BACK... AN EXPLOSIVE MIXTURE.
AND THEN, IT'S... BOOM.
Narrator: FRAME-BY-FRAME
ANALYSIS OF THE VIDEO
CONFIRMS FLAMMABLE FUMES
BURSTING FROM THE BACK OF THE TRUCK.
McCourt: THERE'S A POINT
OF CONTACT AND PUFF.
WE SEE WHITE SMOKE COME OUT.
THEN, BOOM!
WE SEE A HUGE EXPLOSION.
THAT PUFF OF SMOKE IS A CLUE
THAT THERE'S SOME GAS
TRAPPED IN THAT ONE VAN.
AND I THINK THAT'S OUR FUEL SOURCE HERE
THAT CATCHES ON FIRE.
Narrator: SO, WHAT COULD HAVE
CAUSED THESE FUMES TO EXPLODE?
♪♪
COMING UP... A TERRIFYING,
TOXIC FOG SMOTHERS A TOWN.
PEOPLE ARE RUNNING AWAY FROM SOMETHING.
THEY'RE CLEARLY FLEEING FOR THEIR LIVES.
Narrator: DEEP-SEA
DRILLERS FIND A MONSTROUS
NEW LIFE-FORM IN THE ABYSS.
THIS CREATURE DOESN'T LOOK
LIKE ANYTHING ELSE I'VE EVER SEEN...
MORE LIKE AN ALIEN THAN ANY
CREATURE FROM A TEXTBOOK.
Narrator: AND WHAT'S THE
TRIGGER THAT TURNS THIS TRUCK
INTO A FREEWAY FIREBALL?
IT'S A COMPLETELY HEART-STOPPING MOMENT.
THIS TRUCK WAS A BOMB.
♪♪
Narrator: EXPERTS INVESTIGATING
A HIGHWAY HORROR
BLAST DISCOVER THAT FLAMMABLE
FUMES FROM PAINT SOLVENTS
BUILD UP IN THE CONFINED
CARGO HOLD OF THE TRUCK.
BUT THEY HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IGNITES
THIS DEADLY CHEMICAL COCKTAIL.
THIS IS A ONE-IN-A-MILLION
HAPPENING ON A HIGHWAY.
Narrator: CHEMIST ANDREA SELLA SUSPECTS
THAT METAL-ON-METAL IMPACT
MAY HAVE SPARKED THE EXPLOSION.
Sella: THAT VAPOR WAS
JUST WAITING FOR A SPARK,
WHICH WAS PROVIDED
BY THE COLLISION WITH THE OTHER VEHICLE.
THE RESULT IS GOING TO
BE A BIG, ORANGE FIREBALL.
Narrator: EXPLOSIVES EXPERT
MIKE SANSOM RE-CREATES
THE CONDITIONS IN THE BACK OF THE TRUCK.
HE WANTS TO SEE IF A GAS
BYPRODUCT OF PAINT THINNER
COULD'VE CREATED A FIREBALL OF THE FEROCITY
SEEN ON THE SURVEILLANCE VIDEO.
IT'S JUST A TINY, LITTLE
BIT OF A LIQUID SOLVENT.
I'M GONNA PUT IT IN THIS TO
REPRESENT THE BACK OF MY TRUCK.
Narrator: THE SOLVENT
OFF-GASES INTO THE CONTAINER,
COMBINING WITH THE OXYGEN INSIDE
TO CREATE POTENTIALLY VOLATILE FUMES.
Sansom: LET'S SEE WHAT
HAPPENS WHEN I SPARK IT.
WHOA!
[ LAUGHS ]
I MEAN, IT BLEW THE LID CLEAN OFF.
♪♪
THE CRUCIAL THING HERE IS THAT IT WAS
THE PERFECT MIXTURE OF AIR
AND SOLVENT THAT MADE
THIS EXPLOSIVE ENVIRONMENT.
A SINGLE SPARK, AND IT BLEW IT APART.
♪♪
SO, IN A SENSE, IT IS A BOMB.
IT IS AN INADVERTENT BOMB,
BUT THIS TRUCK WAS A BOMB.
Narrator: A PERFECT STORM OF EVENTS
TRIGGERS THIS NIGHTMARE SCENARIO.
WORLDWIDE, MILLIONS OF GALLONS
OF PAINT THINNER IS PRODUCED
AND TRANSPORTED EACH YEAR.
IT WOULD SEEM THAT NO STREET OR TOWN
CAN ESCAPE THE THREAT OF
JUST SUCH A FREAK FIREBALL.
♪♪
NOW, A NIGHTMARISH CREATURE
EMERGES FROM THE DEEP.
IT LOOKS LIKE SOMETHING
OUT OF "INDEPENDENCE DAY"
OR A FACEHUGGER FROM "ALIEN."
WHAT IS IT?
Narrator: EXPERTS HAVE NO IDEA
WHAT IT IS OR WHAT IT WANTS.
DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE AT ALL.
I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT.
♪♪
Narrator: THE GULF OF MEXICO.
AN OIL PLATFORM 200 MILES
OFF THE COAST OF HOUSTON,
ON ONE OF THE WORLD'S
DEEPEST DRILLING SITES.
NOVEMBER 11, 2007.
A DEEP-SEA DIVE TEAM READIES
THEIR REMOTELY OPERATED VEHICLE,
OR R.O.V., FOR A SAFETY CHECK OF THE RIG'S
STABILIZING CRANE WIRE CABLES,
SECURED TO THE SEABED
8,000 FEET BELOW THE WAVES.
ABOVE THE SURFACE,
SUPERINTENDENT MATT DRAGNA
REMOTELY CONTROLS THE VEHICLE.
THE DEPTHS THAT WE'RE
GOING TO ARE WAY TOO GREAT
FOR A DIVER TO ACCESS.
AFTER 1,500, 1,600 FEET,
A DIVER'S JUST NOT A WHOLE LOT OF USE,
AND AN R.O.V. DOESN'T GET TIRED.
Narrator: THE R.O.V.
PASSES THROUGH 600 FEET.
THIS IS AS FAR AS SUNLIGHT PENETRATES.
THE FURTHER DOWN THEY GO,
THE FURTHER THEY ENTER UNCHARTED TERRITORY.
AT 7,900 FEET, THE DEPTH OF
SIX EMPIRE STATE BUILDINGS,
THE R.O.V. STOPS.
THE CREW THINK THEY SPOT SOMETHING WRONG
WITH THE ANCHORING CRANE WIRE CABLES.
WE WERE LOOKING FOR THE CRANE WIRE,
AND I SAID, "WELL, THERE IT IS."
AND THEN I SAID, "THERE'S
ANOTHER ONE, AND ANOTHER ONE."
THERE WAS MULTIPLE CRANE WIRES.
Narrator: DRAGNA ZOOMS
IN THE ONBOARD CAMERA.
IT'S NOT CRANE WIRES HE'S LOOKING AT.
THESE ARE GIANT TENTACLES.
THIS STRANGE CREATURE
THAT'S KINDA CRAZY-LOOKING.
IT'S NOTHING LIKE YOU
WOULD SEE ON THE SURFACE.
IT'S A MULTI-ARMED ORGANISM,
AND IT WAS OUT OF THIS WORLD.
Narrator: THE MONSTER FROM THE
DEEP STARES UNNERVINGLY AT THEM
FOR 30 SECONDS,
THEN DISAPPEARS BACK INTO
THE INKY DARKNESS OF THE OCEAN.
BACK ON DRY LAND, DRAGNA ASKS FOR HELP
TO IDENTIFY THIS ALIEN BEAST.
Mardis: ALL OF THE SUDDEN COMES THIS OBJECT
THAT LOOKS LIKE THE HEAD
OF AN AX WITH NO HANDLE,
WITH MARIONETTE STRINGS HANGING UNDER IT.
IT LOOKS LIKE SOMETHING
OUT OF "INDEPENDENCE DAY"
OR A FACEHUGGER FROM "ALIEN."
WHAT IS IT?
EVEN AFTER WATCHING MANY
HOURS OF VIDEO FOOTAGE
DOWN THE EXTREME DEPTHS,
I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS BEFORE.
Narrator: BIOLOGISTS MUST NOW
CONSIDER IF THE DEEP-SEA CAMERA
HAS FOUND AN ALIEN SPECIES.
COMING UP... AN UNSTOPPABLE
FOG BRINGS DEATH TO A SMALL TOWN.
EVERYTHING THAT WAS LIVING
IN TOWN ENDED UP DYING OFF.
Narrator: AND MARINE EXPERTS INVESTIGATE
IF THIS TENTACLED TERROR
IS A CREATURE FROM ANOTHER WORLD.
ACTUALLY, "ALIEN" ISN'T
A TERRIBLE WORD FOR IT.
THE DEEP OCEAN IS ALMOST
LIKE A DIFFERENT PLANET.
♪♪
Narrator: DEEP-SEA
ENGINEERS SERVICING OIL RIGS
IN THE GULF OF MEXICO
FILM A BIZARRE, TENTACLED BEAST
8,000 FEET BELOW THE SURFACE.
♪♪
MARINE BIOLOGIST BRENDAN
TALWAR STUDIES THE FOOTAGE.
THERE ARE THINGS ABOUT THIS CREATURE
THAT HE'S NEVER SEEN IN
ANY OTHER LIVING THING.
WHAT'S REALLY STRANGE
ABOUT THIS ANIMAL IS, FIRST,
THE FINS ON THE SIDE OF THE
HEAD ARE REALLY, REALLY LARGE.
YOU NOTICE THIS KINDA
ELBOW JOINT ON THE ARMS
AND TENTACLES THAT I'VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE.
Narrator: ITS DISTINCTIVE FEATURES
SET IT APART FROM ANY SPECIES
KNOWN TO SCIENCE.
THIS CREATURE IS REALLY UNIQUE.
IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE
ANYTHING ELSE I'VE EVER SEEN...
MORE LIKE AN ALIEN THAN ANY
CREATURE FROM A TEXTBOOK.
Narrator: BUT ALIENS DON'T
NEED SPACE SHIPS TO TRAVEL.
ASTEROIDS ARE POTENTIAL
CARRIERS FOR ALIEN LIFE-FORMS.
♪♪
THIS MIGHT EVEN EXPLAIN LIFE ON EARTH...
A THEORY KNOWN AS PANSPERMIA.
PANSPERMIA IS THIS IDEA THAT LIFE ON EARTH
ORIGINATED FROM SOME KIND
OF SEEDING OF ORGANISMS
FROM OTHER PLANETS THAT
SEEDED THE EARTH WITH LIFE.
Narrator: EVIDENCE SUGGESTS
THAT LIFE BEGAN ON EARTH
NEARLY 4 BILLION YEARS AGO.
AT AROUND THIS TIME, MILLIONS OF ASTEROIDS
AND COMETS SMASHED INTO
THE PLANET DURING THE PERIOD
KNOWN AS "THE GREAT BOMBARDMENT."
METEORITE FRAGMENTS DISCOVERED IN 1969
CONTAIN TRACES OF AMINO ACIDS.
THIS LEADS SCIENTISTS TO
BELIEVE THAT SPACE ROCKS
ARE CARRYING ORGANIC
MATERIAL ACROSS THE GALAXY.
DID SPACE ROCKS CARRY THE DNA
OF THIS ALIEN CREATURE TO EARTH
FROM SOME FAR-FLUNG PLANET
TO MAKE A HOME 8,000 FEET UNDER THE SEA?
SCIENTIST JOHN FARROW
SPECULATES THAT DEEP-SEA CONDITIONS
MIGHT MIRROR THOSE OF
AN ALIEN'S ORIGINAL HOME.
ACTUALLY, "ALIEN" ISN'T
A TERRIBLE WORD FOR IT,
BECAUSE THE DEEP OCEAN IS
ALMOST LIKE A DIFFERENT PLANET.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT
TEMPERATURE, PRESSURE, LIGHT,
IT'LL BE DIFFERENT IN THE
DEEP OCEAN THAN IT IS ON LAND.
SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THESE
VERY STRANGE CREATURES,
THEY'RE BASICALLY ADAPTED
TO A DIFFERENT PLANET.
Narrator: MARINE BIOLOGIST TERESA GREELY,
FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA,
EXAMINES THE FILM.
SHE LOOKS AT THE PROPORTIONS
OF THE CREATURE'S BODY.
Greely: THIS PARTICULAR CREATURE,
WE SEE A LARGE HEAD-LIKE STRUCTURE
AND SOME ELONGATED ARMS
THAT SEEM EXTRAORDINARILY
LONG FOR THE SIZE OF THIS HEAD.
WE MOST CLOSELY COULD RELATE
THAT TO A GROUP OF ORGANISMS,
THE CEPHALOPODS, WHICH
INCLUDES THE OCTOPI AND THE SQUID.
IF WE LOOK EVEN CLOSER AT THE IMAGE
AND COUNT THE NUMBER OF
EXTENSIONS FROM THE BODY,
WE COUNT 10, AND THAT'S UNIQUE TO SQUID.
Narrator: WHATEVER ITS ORIGIN,
THE ALIEN-LOOKING BEAST
HAS SOME THINGS IN COMMON
WITH A GROUP OF CEPHALOPODS
KNOWN AS MAGNAPINNA.
COULD THIS BE THE FIRST
EVER SIGHTING OF AN ADULT?
RESEARCHERS HAVE FOUND
JUVENILES OF THIS SPECIES BEFORE,
BUT WE'VE NEVER CAUGHT AN ADULT.
SO THAT WOULD BE MY BEST GUESS.
Farrow: THE DEEP OCEAN
IS RELATIVELY UNEXPLORED.
AND IN OUR FIRST FORAYS INTO IT,
WE'RE DISCOVERING VERY
WEIRD, ALIEN-LOOKING SQUID,
SO IMAGINE WHAT WE CAN
FIND IF WE LOOK DEEPER.
♪♪
Narrator: NOW, SURVEILLANCE
CAMERAS CAPTURE A TOXIC CLOUD
ENGULFING AN ILLINOIS TOWN.
Knoup: YOU'RE DROWNING. YOU CAN'T BREATHE.
YOU HAVE A BURNING FEELING IN YOUR LUNGS.
Narrator: THE KILLER CLOUD
LEAVES LIVESTOCK DEAD.
THE HUMANS ARE NEXT.
Pojman: IF YOU GET CAUGHT IN THIS CLOUD,
YOUR CHANCES OF SURVIVAL ARE NEXT TO ZERO.
Pappalardo: COULD IT BE TERRORISM?
COULD IT BE AN INDUSTRIAL
CHEMICAL THAT'S BEEN WEAPONIZED?
♪♪
Narrator: SEWARD, ILLINOIS.
APRIL 23, 2007, 7:00 P.M.
SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS KEEP A WATCHFUL EYE
ON A PARKING LOT IN THE CENTER OF TOWN.
ALL APPEARS NORMAL, UNTIL...
Pappalardo: PEOPLE ARE
RUNNING AWAY FROM SOMETHING.
THEY'RE CLEARLY SCARED.
THEY'RE CLEARLY FLEEING FOR THEIR LIVES.
Narrator: THE CAMERA RECORDS THE MASS PANIC
AS PEOPLE FLEE THE VICINITY.
♪♪
AND THEN IT APPEARS.
A FOG CREEPING ALONG THE GROUND,
ENGULFING EVERYTHING IN ITS PATH.
Pappalardo: THE WAY THAT IT MOVES,
IT ALMOST HAS ITS OWN
SORT OF LIFE BEHIND IT.
IT BEHAVES AS IF IT'S ALIVE.
Narrator: FIREFIGHTER MIKE KNOUP,
BASED AT THE NEARBY TOWN OF PECATONICA,
REACTS TO A 911 CALL.
Knoup: WE COULD ACTUALLY SEE THE CLOUD
STARTING TO DEVELOP ON
THE SOUTH EDGE OF TOWN,
SO WE DECIDED TO EVACUATE THE COMMUNITY.
WE NEEDED TO GET THEM OUT QUICKLY,
SO THEY WERE RUNNING DOOR TO DOOR
SAYING YOU NEEDED TO GET OUT NOW.
Narrator: THE FIRST, BRIEFEST
CONTACT WITH THE CLOUD
SENDS FIREFIGHTERS RUNNING.
Knoup: IT FEELS LIKE YOU'RE DROWNING,
KIND OF A BURNING FEELING IN YOUR LUNGS.
IT HURTS TO TAKE A BREATH.
Narrator: AMBULANCES RUSH
KNOUP AND FIVE FIREFIGHTERS
TO THE HOSPITAL,
WHERE THEY'RE TREATED FOR CHEMICAL BURNS.
AFTER THE CLOUD HAS DRIFTED THROUGH TOWN
TO DESTINATIONS UNKNOWN,
SEWARD SLAUGHTERHOUSE MANAGER
TOM EICKMAN RETURNS TO WORK.
HE MAKES A TERRIBLE DISCOVERY.
THE VEGETATION IN THE EVACUATION
AREA IS TURNING A DEATHLY COLOR.
EVERYTHING THAT WAS LIVING
IN TOWN ENDED UP DYING.
WHEREVER THAT CLOUD HAD
TRAVELED TO TENDED TO DIE OFF.
Narrator: BUT THERE'S WORSE TO COME.
EICKMAN HAD BEEN FORCED
TO LEAVE LIVE ANIMALS
IN THE SLAUGHTERHOUSE,
BUT THEY WEREN'T ANYMORE.
WE HAD FOUR CATTLE THAT
WERE OFF IN OUR BACK PEN,
AND THOSE FOUR CATTLE WERE
ALL LAYING ON THE GROUND.
OF THE SIX HOGS IN THE PEN,
TWO OF THEM WERE DECEASED.
Narrator: THEY'RE UNFIT
FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION.
BUT BEFORE DESTROYING THEM,
EICKMAN CUTS ONE ANIMAL OPEN
TO SEE THE EFFECTS OF THE CLOUD.
WHAT HE SEES IS TRULY CHILLING.
THE TYPICAL HOG LUNG IS
JUST A PINK KIND OF MASS,
AND HERE WE HAVE THESE
HOG LUNGS, ALL TURNED BLACK.
WHATEVER THAT HOG HAD BREATHED
IN LOOKED LIKE IT HAD BURNED
AND HAD KILLED OFF THE LUNG TISSUE.
Narrator: MATERIAL SCIENTIST KISHORE HARI
THINKS HE'S SEEN A GAS
BEFORE THAT KILLS LIKE THIS.
THIS REMINDS ME OF SCENES
THAT PLAYED OUT IN WORLD WAR I,
WITH GASES SLOWLY CREEPING
OVER THE BATTLEFIELD,
SINKING INTO THE TRENCHES,
AND POISONING THE SOLDIERS.
Narrator: THE INCIDENT SUGGESTS
SOMETHING TERRIFYING...
A MUSTARD GAS ATTACK ON AMERICAN SOIL.
IN WORLD WAR I, MUSTARD
GAS TOOK THOUSANDS OF LIVES,
VICTIMS SUFFERING AGONIZING BLISTERS
AND BLEEDING IN THEIR LUNGS.
IT WAS GERMAN FORCES
WHO UNLEASHED THIS GAS,
THE FIRST TRUE WEAPON OF
MASS DESTRUCTION, IN 1917.
THE SURVEILLANCE FOOTAGE IS EXAMINED
BY LOCAL HISTORIAN DAVID LAWRENCE.
HE BELIEVES, IF IT IS MUSTARD GAS,
HE KNOWS A POTENTIAL
SOURCE FOR THIS WORLD WAR I
TOXIC TERROR WEAPON.
IT MIGHT BE STORED JUST A COUPLE
OF HUNDRED MILES FROM SEWARD
IN A MICHIGAN TOWN.
Lawrence: MIDLAND WAS THE
EPICENTER OF THE NATION
FOR THE PRODUCTION OF MUSTARD GAS.
DURING WORLD WAR I, IN MIDLAND,
SEVERAL THOUSAND TONS
OF MUSTARD GAS WERE MADE.
Narrator: LAWRENCE DISCOVERS
THAT IN 1917, A TOP-SECRET
PROGRAM CODE-NAMED G-34
PRODUCED MUSTARD GAS
FOR USE ON THE BATTLEFIELD.
WHEN THE FIRST WORLD WAR ENDED,
MOST OF THE REMAINING DEADLY
GAS WAS DUMPED IN THE ATLANTIC,
BUT IT'S BELIEVED SOME NEVER
LEFT THE FACTORY IN MIDLAND.
THEY BURIED IT THERE IN A DISPOSAL AREA,
AND SUPPOSEDLY IT'S STILL THERE.
Pappalardo: THESE THINGS PERSIST
FOR DECADES AND DECADES.
THOSE CHEMICALS ARE STILL
WAITING TO BE RELEASED.
IT'S A TIME BOMB WAITING TO GO OFF.
Narrator: HAVE CLOUDS OF DEADLY MUSTARD GAS
BEEN RELEASED IN THE U.S.,
THREATENING EVERYTHING IN ITS PATH?
COMING UP... FIERCE
FLASHES TERRIFY ONLOOKERS.
IS THIS AMERICAN CITY UNDER ATTACK?
Luenser: IT WAS JUST WHAT
LOOKED LIKE A BATTLEFIELD.
I THOUGHT WE WERE BEING BOMBED.
Narrator: AND EXPERTS RACE TO
SOLVE THE MYSTERY TOXIC GAS
BEFORE THE DEATH TOLL RISES.
Knoup: WE DID NOT KNOW THE SEVERITY
OF THE BURNS TO THE LUNGS.
THEY HAD TO RUN FOR THEIR LIVES.
♪♪
Narrator: WHEN A DEATHLY FOG
DESCENDS ON SEWARD, ILLINOIS,
EYEWITNESSES REPORT SIMILAR
INJURIES TO THOSE INFLICTED
BY WORLD WAR I KILLER MUSTARD GAS.
IT STARTS TO ATTACK YOUR
SKIN, AND IT'S ACTUALLY A HOT,
BURNING SENSATION ON YOUR SKIN.
Narrator: PROFESSOR JOHN POJMAN,
A CHEMIST AS LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY,
FORENSICALLY EXAMINES THE CLOUD.
HE REVEALS THAT THE MYSTERIOUS VAPOR
DOES NOT HAVE THE CHARACTERISTIC
YELLOW COLOR OF MUSTARD GAS.
INSTEAD, HE SUSPECTS THE
LOCATION OF THE PARKING LOT
IS A KEY TO IDENTIFYING THE TOXIC CLOUD.
THERE ARE SOME CLUES IN THE VIDEO.
IT'S CLEARLY AN AGRICULTURAL AREA,
AND FERTILIZERS ARE EXTREMELY
IMPORTANT FOR AGRICULTURE.
FERTILIZER CAN BE APPLIED AS A SOLID.
IT COULD BE APPLIED IN A SOLUTION
THAT'S SPRAYED ONTO A CROP.
BUT, SURPRISINGLY, THEY
ALSO CAN BE APPLIED AS A GAS.
Narrator: POJMAN IS AWARE
OF ONE NITROGEN-RICH GAS
WHICH BEHAVES LIKE THE
MYSTERIOUS CREEPING MIST
IN THE FOOTAGE.
AMMONIA.
Pojman: AMMONIA IS A SIMPLE MOLECULE.
IT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT CAN BE USED
AS A SOURCE OF NITROGEN FOR PLANTS.
THAT'S WHY IT'S USED AS A FERTILIZER.
Narrator: EXPERTS IDENTIFY AN
AGRICULTURAL PLANT CLOSE-BY
AS THE SOURCE OF THE
DEADLY AMMONIA GAS LEAK.
DEPUTY FIRE CHIEF MIKE KNOUP CONFIRMS
THAT THESE TWO PEOPLE RUNNING FROM THE GAS
ARE EMPLOYEES OF THE PLANT.
YOU CAN SEE THE OPERATORS
RUNNING FROM THE CLOUD.
THEY HANDLE AMMONIA ON A
REGULAR BASIS AND REALIZE
THAT THIS WAS A DANGER.
Narrator: INVESTIGATORS
DISCOVER THE AMMONIA LEAKS
FROM A MALFUNCTIONING VALVE
AS THE OPERATORS PUMP
THE GAS INTO A HOLDING TANK.
IT WAS AN 8,000-GALLON TANK
THAT WAS RELEASING ALL OF ITS
CONTENTS INTO THE COMMUNITY.
WITH THAT VALVE MALFUNCTION
AND THE GAS RELEASING QUICKLY,
THEY HAD TO RUN FOR THEIR LIVES.
Narrator: REMARKABLY, NO HUMANS DIE
IN THIS TERRIFYING TOXIC GAS LEAK.
BUT SOME FEAR IT'S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME
BEFORE ANOTHER SUCH
DEADLY CLOUD BREAKS FREE.
YOU WOULD REALLY BE SURPRISED
WHAT CHEMICALS ARE AROUND YOU.
THERE'S AN INHERENT DANGER
THAT YOU COULD BE IN THE AREA
OF A HAZARDOUS CHEMICAL OR GAS.
♪♪
Narrator: NOW, TERRIFYING FLASHES
LIGHT UP THE TEXAS SKYLINE.
I KNEW SOMETHING WAS GOING WRONG.
SOMETHING WAS GOING HORRIBLY WRONG.
Narrator: FEARS OF FOREIGN MILITARY ACTION.
Hari: THERE'S SOMETHING
REALLY DAMAGING HAPPENING.
THESE ARE GIANT EXPLOSIONS.
♪♪
Narrator: FORT WORTH, TEXAS.
MAY 10, 2011, 9:30 P.M.
AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER BRIAN LUENSER
RETURNS TO HIS 34th-FLOOR APARTMENT.
A BIG STORM IS ON THE HORIZON,
AND HE WANTS TO GO GET SOME PHOTOS.
THE STORM KIND OF PASSED US BY.
AND I WAS KIND OF DISAPPOINTED,
AND THAT'S WHEN ALL OF THE
SUDDEN THE CRAZINESS STARTED.
Narrator: WITNESSES WATCH
IN HORROR AS BLUE FLASHES
LIGHT UP THE CITY SKYLINE
IN SEVERAL PLACES AT ONCE.
Luenser: IT WASN'T JUST IN ONE LOCATION.
I'M SEEING IT LEFT AND RIGHT.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M LOOKING AT.
IT WASN'T LIKE ANYTHING
I'D EVER SEEN BEFORE.
I COULDN'T REALLY PROCESS IT.
Narrator: WHATEVER IT IS,
HE FEARS THE CITY IS IN MORTAL DANGER.
I WAS JUST SCARED. I WAS IN PANIC MODE.
HOW COULD YOU HAVE SO
MANY DIFFERENT EXPLOSIONS
IN SO MANY DIFFERENT
AREAS AT THE SAME TIME?
Narrator: MILITARY TECH JOURNALIST
JOE PAPPALARDO ANALYZES
THE FOOTAGE FOR CLUES.
HE KNOWS THIS PART OF THE WORLD
IS CLOSE TO MILITARY INSTALLATIONS.
PAPPALARDO SUSPECTS THE
CITYWIDE EXPLOSIONS IN THE FOOTAGE
COULD BE SOME KIND OF FRIENDLY FIRE.
Pappalardo: IT'S NOT IMPLAUSIBLE
THAT THE MILITARY WOULD BE DOING
AN EXERCISE IN A DOWNTOWN URBAN AREA.
THEY'VE DONE MILITARY
EXERCISES IN FORT WORTH BEFORE.
♪♪
Narrator: BUT WHEN IMAGE
ANALYST CONOR McCOURT
STUDIES THE FOOTAGE,
HE BELIEVES CLUES IN THE COLOR
OF THE FLASHES POINT
TO A DIFFERENT EXPLANATION.
McCourt: WE'RE GETTING A SERIES
OF BLUE FLASHING LIGHTS OVER HERE,
OVER HERE, OVER HERE.
THIS WOULD INDICATE THAT
MAYBE IT'S ELECTRICAL IN NATURE,
WHATEVER'S GOING ON.
Narrator: McCOURT NOTICES
WHOLE BLOCKS LOSING POWER.
IT'S THE ABSENCE OF CITY
LIGHTS THAT CONFIRMS HIS THEORY.
IF THIS WAS AN ELECTRICAL OCCURRENCE,
I MIGHT EXPECT A BLACKOUT
WHERE IT'S HAPPENING.
THERE IS A DARK SPOT RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE.
COULD BE INDICATIVE OF A BLACKOUT.
Narrator: A CHECK OF RECORDS REVEALS
FORT WORTH DOES SUFFER A
SEVERE BLACKOUT THAT EVENING.
OVER 4,000 PEOPLE LOSE POWER.
DAVID WALLACE, AN ELECTRICAL ENGINEER
AT MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY,
INVESTIGATES IF THERE IS A CONNECTION
BETWEEN THE FRIGHTENING
BLUE FLASHES AND THE BLACKOUTS.
IF YOU THINK ABOUT EXOTIC MILITARY WEAPONS
THAT COULD CAUSE DAMAGE
LIKE WE'RE SEEING HERE,
THERE'S ONE THAT COMES TO MIND
THAT WAS REALLY A BYPRODUCT
OF THE NUCLEAR BOMB.
Narrator: DURING TESTS IN THE 1960s,
THE U.S. GOVERNMENT DISCOVERS
AN UNEXPECTED SIDE EFFECT
OF A NUCLEAR EXPLOSION.
ASIDE FROM THE POWER OF
THE BLAST, A NUCLEAR BOMB
ALSO RELEASES A POWERFUL
ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVE,
CAPABLE OF KNOCKING OUT STREETLIGHTS
AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
HUNDREDS OF MILES FROM GROUND ZERO.
THE MILITARY CALLS IT EMP.
EMP STANDS FOR ELECTROMAGNETIC PULSE.
IT'S ENOUGH ENERGY EMITTED THAT ANYTHING
WITH AN ELECTRICAL COMPONENT
CAN BE BURNED OUT AND RENDERED USELESS.
Narrator: U.S. COLD WAR WARRIORS
REALIZE EMPs CAN BE WEAPONIZED.
WALLACE DISCOVERS THAT, OVER THE DECADES,
THE UNITED STATES PERFECTED
THE TECHNOLOGY TO WIPE OUT
AND ERASE ENEMY COMMUNICATIONS.
WHAT THEY'VE BEEN DOING
IS TRYING TO MINIATURIZE IT,
MAKE IT MORE SMALL-SCALE, MORE PORTABLE,
AND BE ABLE TO DO THE SAME EFFECT
BUT WITHOUT HAVING A NUCLEAR EXPLOSION.
COULD THIS BE SOMETHING
LIKE WE'RE SEEING IN THE VIDEO?
Narrator: COMING UP... SKY-FALL.
IT'S BIG, IT COMES FROM ABOVE,
AND IT ALMOST KILLS A MOTHER AND CHILD.
THEY'RE LUCKY TO BE ALIVE.
Narrator: AND FORENSIC
INVESTIGATION OF THE FLASHES
THAT BRING TERROR TO TEXAS.
Wallace: IT'S LIKE A BOMB GOING OFF.
AND WHEN THEY EXPLODE, IT AIN'T PRETTY.
♪♪
Narrator: DAVID WALLACE,
AN ELECTRICAL ENGINEER
AT MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY,
INVESTIGATES THE CAUSE OF
A SERIES OF EXPLOSIVE POWER
OUTAGES ACROSS FORT WORTH.
HE DEVISES AN EXPERIMENT TO FIND OUT
IF AN EMP COULD CAUSE THE SAME BLUE FLASHES
AS SEEN IN THE SURVEILLANCE FOOTAGE.
SO, WHAT WE WANT TO
DO TODAY IS BUILD AN EMP.
I THINK WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO
GET THIS GOOD LITTLE SYSTEM GOING.
Narrator: THE TEAM SETS
AN IMPULSE GENERATOR
TO CREATE THE ELECTROMAGNETIC PULSE.
DESIGNED FOR HIGH-ENERGY
PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS,
THE GENERATOR HARNESSES THE POWER STORED
IN MULTIPLE CAPACITORS
AND RELEASES IT IN A NANOSECOND.
THEY'LL DIRECT THE MASSIVE
VOLTAGE SPIKE INTO THIS REGULAR
WORKING COMPUTER.
IT'S GONNA GENERATE
APPROXIMATELY 80,000 VOLTS.
WE'RE GONNA DISCHARGE ALL OF THIS POWER,
AND ANYTHING UNDERNEATH
THIS WILL EXPERIENCE
THE FULL FORCE OF THE EMP.
WILL IT TURN IT OFF? WILL IT BLOW IT UP?
LET'S FIND OUT.
ALL CLEAR! EVERYBODY OUT.
WE'RE GETTING READY TO GO HOT.
LET'S START THE SYSTEM, AND
GIVE ME A CHARGE OF 80,000.
10,000!
ALL RIGHT, LOOKING GOOD SO FAR.
20,000!
30,000!
SO IT'S GONNA BE A LOT OF JUICE HERE.
-70,000! -LET'S GET READY TO FIRE.
ALL RIGHT, WE'RE AT 80,000.
ALL RIGHT. 3, 2, 1, FIRE.
♪♪
ALL RIGHT, LET'S GO SEE WHAT THIS BABY DID.
WELL, LOOKY HERE.
THE COMPUTER'S OFF.
EVERYTHING'S DEAD.
THE COMPUTER'S DEAD. THE MONITOR'S DEAD.
NOTHING'S COMING UP.
SO WE'VE OBVIOUSLY FRIED
THE ELECTRONIC CIRCUITRY IN IT
WITH THE PULSE.
Narrator: WALLACE'S EMP KILLS THE COMPUTER,
CREATING A BLACKOUT JUST LIKE IN THE CLIP.
BUT THAT'S WHERE THE SIMILARITIES END.
THE EXPERIMENT CREATES NO EXPLOSIONS
OR VIVID BLUE BURSTS OF ELECTRICAL ENERGY
AS SEEN IN THE FORT WORTH FOOTAGE.
THIS TENDS TO LEAD ME TO
BELIEVE IT WAS NOT AN EMP
THAT WE WITNESSED INSIDE THE VIDEO.
Narrator: WHEN IMAGE ANALYST CONOR McCOURT
RETURNS TO THE FOOTAGE,
HE SPOTS A VITAL CLUE
THAT MAY CRACK THE MYSTERY
OF THE TEXAS MELTDOWN.
WE HAVE A KEY PIECE OF EVIDENCE RIGHT HERE
NEXT TO THIS BLUE FLASH.
RIGHT JUST TO THE LEFT, WE
SEE A SERIES OF POWER LINES
GOING RIGHT UP TO THE EXPLOSION AREA.
SO IF WE GO STEP BY STEP,
THE POWER LINES ARE REVEALED.
THEY'RE ILLUMINATED RIGHT THERE.
♪♪
Narrator: McCOURT ALSO SPOTS
ANOTHER CLUE IN THE FOOTAGE...
A FLASH IN THE SKY.
HE REALIZES THE STORM HADN'T FULLY PASSED
WHEN THE EXPLOSIONS ERUPT.
THERE'S AN INCREDIBLE AMOUNT OF ENERGY
CRACKLING THROUGH THE AIR
WHEN THESE EXPLOSIONS HAPPEN.
SOME SORT OF LIGHTNING STRIKE
CAUSED A BUNCH OF OUTAGES
AT DIFFERENT PLACES THROUGHOUT THE CITY
AND THAT RIPPLE EFFECT
OF MULTIPLE EXPLOSIONS
ALONG THE WAY.
Narrator: HARI CONCLUDES
THAT A LIGHTNING BOLT
HITS ONE OF THE CITY'S POWER TRANSFORMERS,
GENERATING TEMPERATURES HOTTER
THAN THE SURFACE OF THE SUN...
MORE THAN ENOUGH TO BLOW UP A TRANSFORMER,
WHICH IN TURN SETS OFF A DOMINO EFFECT.
WE HAVE SOME SORT OF
VOLTAGE SPIKE THAT ENTERED
A TRANSFORMER, BLEW IT UP.
AND THAT VOLTAGE SPIKE JUST CONTINUED,
CREATING A CASCADING EFFECT OF TRANSFORMERS
BLOWING UP AND UP AND UP.
Wallace: IT'S LIKE A BOMB GOING OFF.
AND WHEN THEY EXPLODE, IT AIN'T PRETTY.
Narrator: THE ELECTRIC COMPANY
THAT SERVES FORT WORTH CONFIRMS
THAT LIGHTNING STRIKES CAUSED
THESE FLUORESCENT FLASHES.
BUT WITNESSES WILL NEVER
FORGET THE INTENSITY OF THE IMPACT
IT HAD ON THEM.
Luenser: I WAS IN PANIC MODE.
MY WIFE WAS, ALSO.
SHE THOUGHT THE WORLD WAS COMING TO AN END.
♪♪
Narrator: COMING UP... A
RUSSIAN SURVEILLANCE CAMERA
CAPTURES A TERRIFYING NEAR MISS.
Wolshon: THIS IS VERY DRAMATIC FOOTAGE.
THEY'RE LUCKY TO BE ALIVE.
♪♪
Narrator: A RUSSIAN SURVEILLANCE CAMERA
CAPTURES A TERRIFYING NEAR MISS.
THERE WAS NO WAY YOU
COULD HAVE ANTICIPATED THAT.
Narrator: ANALYSTS SUSPECT A SINISTER FORCE
IS BEHIND THIS MASSIVE
STRUCTURE FALLING FROM THE SKY.
COULD IT BE SOME KIND OF EXPLOSION?
COMES OUT OF NOWHERE.
♪♪
Narrator: SOUTHWEST RUSSIA.
MARCH 19, 2016, 4:00 P.M.
A SURVEILLANCE CAMERA
KEEPS WATCH ON THE TOWN SQUARE OF LABINSK
AND RECORDS A HORRIFYING MOMENT.
♪♪
IT JUST LANDS, YOU KNOW,
WHERE THIS WOMAN AND CHILD
WERE MOMENTS BEFORE.
IS THIS SOME KIND OF A NATURAL PHENOMENON
THAT WE JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND?
Narrator: PHYSICIST SIMON FOSTER
NOTICES THAT THE STRUCTURE FALLS
FROM A NEARBY BUILDING.
HE ALSO SPOTS A TINY CLUE
THAT POINTS TO FREAK WEATHER
AS THE ROOF-RAISING CULPRIT.
IT MAY NOT BE THAT
OBVIOUS AT THE STREET LEVEL.
WHAT'S INTERESTING IS
ACTUALLY IN THE DISTANCE,
IF YOU SEE THOSE TREES.
THE TREES ARE SWAYING A LOT.
♪♪
Narrator: CIVIL ENGINEER
BRIAN WOLSHON KNOWS
OF ONE WIND PHENOMENON POWERFUL ENOUGH
TO CAUSE THE DESTRUCTION
IN THE SURVEILLANCE FOOTAGE.
WHEN I SEE A ROOF FLYING THROUGH THE AIR,
THAT WOULD NORMALLY
MAKE ME THINK OF A HURRICANE.
HERE IN LOUISIANA, WHERE
WE'VE HAD HURRICANES
LIKE HURRICANE KATRINA AND HURRICANE RITA
AND HURRICANE GUSTAV,
I'VE ACTUALLY SEEN ROOFS
TORN CLEAR OFF OF BUILDINGS.
THOSE WERE VERY, VERY POWERFUL STORMS.
Narrator: BUT STORM CHASER GEORGE KOUROUNIS
HAS FIRSTHAND EXPERIENCE
OF WEIRD AND WILD WEATHER.
WHEN HE ANALYZES THE
PASSERSBY IN THE FOOTAGE,
HE SEES A PROBLEM WITH
THE HURRICANE THEORY.
Kourounis: THE CURIOUS
THING ABOUT THIS VIDEO
IS THAT THESE PEOPLE ARE
WALKING DOWN THE STREET,
AND THEY'RE NOT BRACING AGAINST THE WIND.
THEY'RE NOT IN SOME GIANT WINDSTORM.
♪♪
Narrator: PHYSICIST SIMON
FOSTER TURNS HIS ATTENTION
FROM THE ELEMENTS TO THE ROOF ITSELF.
ALTHOUGH THE FOOTAGE ONLY
CAPTURES THE ROOF LANDING,
HE WONDERS IF ITS SHAPE MIGHT HOLD THE KEY.
Foster: THE WAY THE ROOF HAS COME OFF,
IT HAS COME OFF IN ONE SOLID PIECE.
THAT INDICATES TO ME THE STRUCTURE OF IT,
HOW IT'S BUILT, AS BEING A
KEY IN WHY IT'S COME OFF.
THIS SOUNDS BIZARRE, BUT
THE ROOF WAS ACTUALLY ANGLED,
AND IT COULD ALMOST BE LIKE A WING.
Narrator: NYU PHYSICIST JOHN DI BARTOLO
CONSIDERS HOW A WING-SHAPED
ROOF MIGHT TAKE FLIGHT.
Di Bartolo: IF YOU WERE
TO CUT A CROSS-SECTION
OF THE AIRPLANE WING,
YOU WOULD SEE THAT THE
UPPER PART IS MORE CURVED
THAN THE LOWER PART.
THAT FORCES THE AIR TO TRAVEL FASTER
OVER THE TOP OF THE PLANE THAN UNDERNEATH.
THAT CAUSES THE PRESSURE
TO BE LOWER ON THE TOP PART
OF THE WING THAN UNDERNEATH,
WHICH PROVIDES A LIFT.
Foster: THE AIRFLOW AROUND
THIS ROOF STRUCTURE
HAS GIVEN A HUGE AMOUNT OF LIFT,
JUST LIKE A WING ON A PLANE.
BASICALLY, IT RIPPED IT OFF
AND DEPOSITED IT IN THE
MIDDLE OF THIS SQUARE.
Narrator: THIS RAISES
ANOTHER INTRIGUING QUESTION.
HOW CAN EVEN A WING-SHAPED ROOF TAKE FLIGHT
ON A RELATIVELY CALM DAY?
WHEN WE THINK OF DESTRUCTIVE WINDS,
WE IMAGINE THINGS LIKE
TORNADOES OR HURRICANES.
WELL, YES, BUT UNDER THE RIGHT CONDITIONS,
YOU ONLY NEED A WIND SPEED OF 30, 40,
50 MILES AN HOUR TO CAUSE
SOME TREMENDOUS DAMAGE.
AND I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY
WHAT'S GOING ON HERE.
Di Bartolo: IF THOSE PEOPLE WERE
WALKING A LITTLE BIT SLOWER,
THEY WOULD'VE BEEN UNDER THAT ROOF,
AND THAT WOULD'VE BEEN THE END OF IT.
CAMERAS ARE WATCHING US.
ON OUR STREETS, AT WORK, AND IN OUR HOMES,
THEY CAPTURE THINGS THAT SEEM IMPOSSIBLE.
IT DEFIES THE LAWS OF PHYSICS.
Kays: AW, THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE, MAN.
Narrator: EXPERTS CARRY
OUT FORENSIC ANALYSIS
OF THESE UNUSUAL EVENTS.
THERE'S GOT TO BE SOME
EXPLANATION FOR WHAT'S GOING ON.
[ SCREAMING ]
[ HORN HONKING ]
Narrator: COMING UP... HIGHWAY HELLFIRE.
SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION ON THE FREEWAY.
IT'S A GIANT FIREBALL.
IT LOOKS LIKE A SPECIAL EFFECT,
BUT THIS IS TERRIFYINGLY REAL.
Narrator: BEAST FROM THE ABYSS.
A DRILL TEAM ENCOUNTERS AN UNDERWATER ALIEN
IN THE OCEAN DEPTHS.
Kays: THIS CREATURE DOESN'T
LOOK LIKE ANYTHING ELSE
I'VE EVER SEEN... MORE LIKE AN ALIEN
THAN ANY CREATURE FROM A TEXTBOOK.
Narrator: AND A KILLER FOG
SPREADS THROUGH AN ILLINOIS TOWN.
Pojman: IF YOU GET CAUGHT IN THIS CLOUD,
YOUR CHANCES OF SURVIVAL ARE NEXT TO ZERO.
Narrator: BIZARRE PHENOMENA.
MYSTERIES CAUGHT ON CAMERA.
WHAT'S THE TRUTH BEHIND
THIS "STRANGE EVIDENCE"?
♪♪
A TRAFFIC CAMERA IN CHINA, AND A
TRUCK SPONTANEOUSLY EXPLODES.
JUST AN ENORMOUS EXPLOSION.
IT'S A COMPLETELY HEART-STOPPING MOMENT.
Narrator: INVESTIGATORS SIFT
THE WRECKAGE FOR CLUES
ABOUT WHAT CAUSED THIS FREEWAY FIREBALL.
WE'VE ALL SEEN COLLISIONS, BUT
NEVER AN EXPLOSION LIKE THIS.
♪♪
Narrator: HANGZHOU, ONE OF
CHINA'S MOST CONGESTED CITIES.
THERE'S 7 MILLION PEOPLE
AND 2.5 MILLION CARS.
JULY 17, 2017.
ROAD CAMERAS ARE KEEPING
TABS ON A NORMAL RUSH HOUR
WHEN ONE CAPTURES A BIZARRE EVENT.
♪♪
THIS IS STRAIGHT OUT OF
A SUMMER ACTION MOVIE.
WE SEE A TRUCK, COMING NOT
AT A SUPER HIGH RATE OF SPEED,
COLLIDE WITH A TRUCK THAT
SEEMS TO BE PARKED ON A HIGHWAY.
AND THEN A SPECTACULAR EXPLOSION HAPPENS.
♪♪
Narrator: ROAD ACCIDENTS
ARE WIDESPREAD IN CHINA,
KILLING OVER 250,000 PEOPLE A YEAR.
BUT NORMAL COLLISIONS DON'T
RESULT IN A MASSIVE FIRESTORM.
THE SCALE OF THE BLAST BAFFLES EXPERTS.
IT LOOKS LIKE A SPECIAL EFFECT,
BUT THIS IS TERRIFYINGLY REAL.
Bartolo: AMAZINGLY, NOBODY
WAS HURT IN THIS EXPLOSION,
BUT YOU COULD EASILY
IMAGINE A DIFFERENT OUTCOME.
Narrator: PROFESSOR OF
CHEMISTRY ANDREA SELLA
EXAMINES THE FOOTAGE.
HE SPECULATES THAT THE MYSTERY EXPLOSION
MAY HAVE BEEN CAUSED BY
A DEADLY CHEMICAL CARGO.
FOR ME, THE PRINCIPAL
QUESTION THAT'S IN MY MIND IS,
"WHAT'S ONBOARD THAT VEHICLE?"
THE OBVIOUS THING THAT
SPRINGS TO MIND IS NITROGLYCERIN,
THE GREAT EXPLOSIVE THAT
IS AT THE HEART OF DYNAMITE.
♪♪
Narrator: NITROGLYCERIN IS MADE
UP OF UNSTABLE MOLECULES.
THEY BURN QUICKLY, CREATING INTENSE HEAT
AND RAPIDLY EXPANDING GAS.
THE RESULT IS DEVASTATING.
IT'S A CONTACT EXPLOSIVE.
A PHYSICAL SHOCK IS ENOUGH TO SET IT OFF.
CHINA USES VAST
QUANTITIES OF THIS EXPLOSIVE
TO EXTRACT METALS AND MINERALS.
ALL OF OUR MINING INDUSTRY IS
REALLY DRIVEN BY EXPLOSIVES,
BECAUSE THAT'S HOW YOU
BREAK THE ROCKS APART.
♪♪
Narrator: PYROTECHNICS SPECIALIST
MIKE SANSOM WANTS TO SEE
IF NITROGLYCERIN'S EXPLOSIVE PROPERTIES
MATCH THE FIREBALL CAUGHT ON CAMERA.
SO, THIS HERE IS NITROGLYCERIN.
IT'S A PRIMARY HIGH EXPLOSIVE.
IT'S IMPACT- AND FRICTION-SENSITIVE,
AND WHEN IT DETONATES, IT GOES
AT ABOUT 7,000 METERS A SECOND.
LET'S GIVE IT A GO.
Narrator: WITH A SUBSTANCE AS
POWERFUL AS NITROGLYCERIN,
SANSOM DELIVERS THE TINIEST
OF DROPLETS TO THE TEST PAD...
JUST 1/480 OF A FLUID OUNCE.
Sansom: I'M GONNA HIT
IT WITH A HAMMER TO SEE
IF THIS IMPACT CAN SET IT OFF.
OH!
♪♪
I MEAN, THE FORCE OF THAT
WENT STRAIGHT THROUGH ME.
IT JUST BLEW UP.
I MEAN, IT BLEW IT TO SMITHEREENS.
Narrator: BUT SANSOM
DETECTS A KEY DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN THIS EXPLOSION AND
THE MYSTERY BLAST IN THE FOOTAGE.
Sansom: IT'S ALMOST LIKE
THE VIDEO, BUT NOT QUITE.
THERE WERE NO FLAMES, AND THERE'S NO SMOKE.
SO WHAT WAS IT?
IT'S GOT TO BE SOMETHING ELSE.
♪♪
Narrator: MATERIAL SCIENTIST
KISHORE HARI SPOTS A CLUE
IN THE FOOTAGE... DEBRIS
COMING OUT OF THE TRUCK.
Hari: WHAT SEEMS TO BE
COMING OUT ARE BITS OF PAPER.
AND THAT'S REALLY UNUSUAL BECAUSE,
EVEN THOUGH PAPER IS FLAMMABLE,
WE DON'T THINK OF PAPER AS EXPLODENT.
Narrator: WHEN IMAGE ANALYST
CONOR McCOURT EXAMINES
FOOTAGE OF THE AFTERMATH,
HE IDENTIFIES AN INTRIGUING CLUE
IN THE CARGO OF THE FIRE-RAVAGED TRUCK.
IF WE LOOK AT THE VIDEO FOOTAGE,
WE SEE CONTAINERS ON
THE BACK OF THE TRUCK...
VERY SUSPICIOUS.
SMOKING CONTAINERS HERE.
PAINT CONTAINER, ALL CHARRED.
WHAT I SUSPECT IS THAT THERE'S
ANOTHER MATERIAL BACK THERE,
WHICH WOULD MAKE SENSE
TO BE IN THE BACK OF A TRUCK
THAT'S CARRYING PAINT, AND
THAT WOULD BE PAINT THINNER.
Narrator: STRANGELY, NEITHER
PAINT NOR PAINT THINNER
ARE COMBUSTIBLE,
BUT THERE'S A BYPRODUCT
OF THEM THAT CAN BE.
♪♪
WITH PAINT OR OTHER MATERIALS
THAT INVOLVE VOLATILE COMPOUNDS,
THEY RELEASE GAS FROM THE LIQUID.
AND THAT VAPOR CAN BE
FLAMMABLE A LOT OF TIMES.
IT'S NOT SO DIFFERENT FROM
HOLDING A TANK OF GASOLINE.
IT'S NOT THE GASOLINE
ITSELF THAT'S COMBUSTIBLE.
IT'S THE GASOLINE VAPOR.
IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING FLAMMABLE
IN THE BACK OF YOUR TRUCK,
SOME KIND OF FLAMMABLE LIQUID,
IF IT'S VERY HOT BACK THERE,
IT CAN START TO OFF-GAS.
Sella: YOU CAN IMAGINE
THAT ON A HOT, SUNNY DAY,
IF THE SOLVENT BEGAN TO LEAK OUT,
YOU COULD QUICKLY REACH A
REALLY SATURATED ATMOSPHERE
INSIDE THE BACK... AN EXPLOSIVE MIXTURE.
AND THEN, IT'S... BOOM.
Narrator: FRAME-BY-FRAME
ANALYSIS OF THE VIDEO
CONFIRMS FLAMMABLE FUMES
BURSTING FROM THE BACK OF THE TRUCK.
McCourt: THERE'S A POINT
OF CONTACT AND PUFF.
WE SEE WHITE SMOKE COME OUT.
THEN, BOOM!
WE SEE A HUGE EXPLOSION.
THAT PUFF OF SMOKE IS A CLUE
THAT THERE'S SOME GAS
TRAPPED IN THAT ONE VAN.
AND I THINK THAT'S OUR FUEL SOURCE HERE
THAT CATCHES ON FIRE.
Narrator: SO, WHAT COULD HAVE
CAUSED THESE FUMES TO EXPLODE?
♪♪
COMING UP... A TERRIFYING,
TOXIC FOG SMOTHERS A TOWN.
PEOPLE ARE RUNNING AWAY FROM SOMETHING.
THEY'RE CLEARLY FLEEING FOR THEIR LIVES.
Narrator: DEEP-SEA
DRILLERS FIND A MONSTROUS
NEW LIFE-FORM IN THE ABYSS.
THIS CREATURE DOESN'T LOOK
LIKE ANYTHING ELSE I'VE EVER SEEN...
MORE LIKE AN ALIEN THAN ANY
CREATURE FROM A TEXTBOOK.
Narrator: AND WHAT'S THE
TRIGGER THAT TURNS THIS TRUCK
INTO A FREEWAY FIREBALL?
IT'S A COMPLETELY HEART-STOPPING MOMENT.
THIS TRUCK WAS A BOMB.
♪♪
Narrator: EXPERTS INVESTIGATING
A HIGHWAY HORROR
BLAST DISCOVER THAT FLAMMABLE
FUMES FROM PAINT SOLVENTS
BUILD UP IN THE CONFINED
CARGO HOLD OF THE TRUCK.
BUT THEY HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IGNITES
THIS DEADLY CHEMICAL COCKTAIL.
THIS IS A ONE-IN-A-MILLION
HAPPENING ON A HIGHWAY.
Narrator: CHEMIST ANDREA SELLA SUSPECTS
THAT METAL-ON-METAL IMPACT
MAY HAVE SPARKED THE EXPLOSION.
Sella: THAT VAPOR WAS
JUST WAITING FOR A SPARK,
WHICH WAS PROVIDED
BY THE COLLISION WITH THE OTHER VEHICLE.
THE RESULT IS GOING TO
BE A BIG, ORANGE FIREBALL.
Narrator: EXPLOSIVES EXPERT
MIKE SANSOM RE-CREATES
THE CONDITIONS IN THE BACK OF THE TRUCK.
HE WANTS TO SEE IF A GAS
BYPRODUCT OF PAINT THINNER
COULD'VE CREATED A FIREBALL OF THE FEROCITY
SEEN ON THE SURVEILLANCE VIDEO.
IT'S JUST A TINY, LITTLE
BIT OF A LIQUID SOLVENT.
I'M GONNA PUT IT IN THIS TO
REPRESENT THE BACK OF MY TRUCK.
Narrator: THE SOLVENT
OFF-GASES INTO THE CONTAINER,
COMBINING WITH THE OXYGEN INSIDE
TO CREATE POTENTIALLY VOLATILE FUMES.
Sansom: LET'S SEE WHAT
HAPPENS WHEN I SPARK IT.
WHOA!
[ LAUGHS ]
I MEAN, IT BLEW THE LID CLEAN OFF.
♪♪
THE CRUCIAL THING HERE IS THAT IT WAS
THE PERFECT MIXTURE OF AIR
AND SOLVENT THAT MADE
THIS EXPLOSIVE ENVIRONMENT.
A SINGLE SPARK, AND IT BLEW IT APART.
♪♪
SO, IN A SENSE, IT IS A BOMB.
IT IS AN INADVERTENT BOMB,
BUT THIS TRUCK WAS A BOMB.
Narrator: A PERFECT STORM OF EVENTS
TRIGGERS THIS NIGHTMARE SCENARIO.
WORLDWIDE, MILLIONS OF GALLONS
OF PAINT THINNER IS PRODUCED
AND TRANSPORTED EACH YEAR.
IT WOULD SEEM THAT NO STREET OR TOWN
CAN ESCAPE THE THREAT OF
JUST SUCH A FREAK FIREBALL.
♪♪
NOW, A NIGHTMARISH CREATURE
EMERGES FROM THE DEEP.
IT LOOKS LIKE SOMETHING
OUT OF "INDEPENDENCE DAY"
OR A FACEHUGGER FROM "ALIEN."
WHAT IS IT?
Narrator: EXPERTS HAVE NO IDEA
WHAT IT IS OR WHAT IT WANTS.
DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE AT ALL.
I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT.
♪♪
Narrator: THE GULF OF MEXICO.
AN OIL PLATFORM 200 MILES
OFF THE COAST OF HOUSTON,
ON ONE OF THE WORLD'S
DEEPEST DRILLING SITES.
NOVEMBER 11, 2007.
A DEEP-SEA DIVE TEAM READIES
THEIR REMOTELY OPERATED VEHICLE,
OR R.O.V., FOR A SAFETY CHECK OF THE RIG'S
STABILIZING CRANE WIRE CABLES,
SECURED TO THE SEABED
8,000 FEET BELOW THE WAVES.
ABOVE THE SURFACE,
SUPERINTENDENT MATT DRAGNA
REMOTELY CONTROLS THE VEHICLE.
THE DEPTHS THAT WE'RE
GOING TO ARE WAY TOO GREAT
FOR A DIVER TO ACCESS.
AFTER 1,500, 1,600 FEET,
A DIVER'S JUST NOT A WHOLE LOT OF USE,
AND AN R.O.V. DOESN'T GET TIRED.
Narrator: THE R.O.V.
PASSES THROUGH 600 FEET.
THIS IS AS FAR AS SUNLIGHT PENETRATES.
THE FURTHER DOWN THEY GO,
THE FURTHER THEY ENTER UNCHARTED TERRITORY.
AT 7,900 FEET, THE DEPTH OF
SIX EMPIRE STATE BUILDINGS,
THE R.O.V. STOPS.
THE CREW THINK THEY SPOT SOMETHING WRONG
WITH THE ANCHORING CRANE WIRE CABLES.
WE WERE LOOKING FOR THE CRANE WIRE,
AND I SAID, "WELL, THERE IT IS."
AND THEN I SAID, "THERE'S
ANOTHER ONE, AND ANOTHER ONE."
THERE WAS MULTIPLE CRANE WIRES.
Narrator: DRAGNA ZOOMS
IN THE ONBOARD CAMERA.
IT'S NOT CRANE WIRES HE'S LOOKING AT.
THESE ARE GIANT TENTACLES.
THIS STRANGE CREATURE
THAT'S KINDA CRAZY-LOOKING.
IT'S NOTHING LIKE YOU
WOULD SEE ON THE SURFACE.
IT'S A MULTI-ARMED ORGANISM,
AND IT WAS OUT OF THIS WORLD.
Narrator: THE MONSTER FROM THE
DEEP STARES UNNERVINGLY AT THEM
FOR 30 SECONDS,
THEN DISAPPEARS BACK INTO
THE INKY DARKNESS OF THE OCEAN.
BACK ON DRY LAND, DRAGNA ASKS FOR HELP
TO IDENTIFY THIS ALIEN BEAST.
Mardis: ALL OF THE SUDDEN COMES THIS OBJECT
THAT LOOKS LIKE THE HEAD
OF AN AX WITH NO HANDLE,
WITH MARIONETTE STRINGS HANGING UNDER IT.
IT LOOKS LIKE SOMETHING
OUT OF "INDEPENDENCE DAY"
OR A FACEHUGGER FROM "ALIEN."
WHAT IS IT?
EVEN AFTER WATCHING MANY
HOURS OF VIDEO FOOTAGE
DOWN THE EXTREME DEPTHS,
I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS BEFORE.
Narrator: BIOLOGISTS MUST NOW
CONSIDER IF THE DEEP-SEA CAMERA
HAS FOUND AN ALIEN SPECIES.
COMING UP... AN UNSTOPPABLE
FOG BRINGS DEATH TO A SMALL TOWN.
EVERYTHING THAT WAS LIVING
IN TOWN ENDED UP DYING OFF.
Narrator: AND MARINE EXPERTS INVESTIGATE
IF THIS TENTACLED TERROR
IS A CREATURE FROM ANOTHER WORLD.
ACTUALLY, "ALIEN" ISN'T
A TERRIBLE WORD FOR IT.
THE DEEP OCEAN IS ALMOST
LIKE A DIFFERENT PLANET.
♪♪
Narrator: DEEP-SEA
ENGINEERS SERVICING OIL RIGS
IN THE GULF OF MEXICO
FILM A BIZARRE, TENTACLED BEAST
8,000 FEET BELOW THE SURFACE.
♪♪
MARINE BIOLOGIST BRENDAN
TALWAR STUDIES THE FOOTAGE.
THERE ARE THINGS ABOUT THIS CREATURE
THAT HE'S NEVER SEEN IN
ANY OTHER LIVING THING.
WHAT'S REALLY STRANGE
ABOUT THIS ANIMAL IS, FIRST,
THE FINS ON THE SIDE OF THE
HEAD ARE REALLY, REALLY LARGE.
YOU NOTICE THIS KINDA
ELBOW JOINT ON THE ARMS
AND TENTACLES THAT I'VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE.
Narrator: ITS DISTINCTIVE FEATURES
SET IT APART FROM ANY SPECIES
KNOWN TO SCIENCE.
THIS CREATURE IS REALLY UNIQUE.
IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE
ANYTHING ELSE I'VE EVER SEEN...
MORE LIKE AN ALIEN THAN ANY
CREATURE FROM A TEXTBOOK.
Narrator: BUT ALIENS DON'T
NEED SPACE SHIPS TO TRAVEL.
ASTEROIDS ARE POTENTIAL
CARRIERS FOR ALIEN LIFE-FORMS.
♪♪
THIS MIGHT EVEN EXPLAIN LIFE ON EARTH...
A THEORY KNOWN AS PANSPERMIA.
PANSPERMIA IS THIS IDEA THAT LIFE ON EARTH
ORIGINATED FROM SOME KIND
OF SEEDING OF ORGANISMS
FROM OTHER PLANETS THAT
SEEDED THE EARTH WITH LIFE.
Narrator: EVIDENCE SUGGESTS
THAT LIFE BEGAN ON EARTH
NEARLY 4 BILLION YEARS AGO.
AT AROUND THIS TIME, MILLIONS OF ASTEROIDS
AND COMETS SMASHED INTO
THE PLANET DURING THE PERIOD
KNOWN AS "THE GREAT BOMBARDMENT."
METEORITE FRAGMENTS DISCOVERED IN 1969
CONTAIN TRACES OF AMINO ACIDS.
THIS LEADS SCIENTISTS TO
BELIEVE THAT SPACE ROCKS
ARE CARRYING ORGANIC
MATERIAL ACROSS THE GALAXY.
DID SPACE ROCKS CARRY THE DNA
OF THIS ALIEN CREATURE TO EARTH
FROM SOME FAR-FLUNG PLANET
TO MAKE A HOME 8,000 FEET UNDER THE SEA?
SCIENTIST JOHN FARROW
SPECULATES THAT DEEP-SEA CONDITIONS
MIGHT MIRROR THOSE OF
AN ALIEN'S ORIGINAL HOME.
ACTUALLY, "ALIEN" ISN'T
A TERRIBLE WORD FOR IT,
BECAUSE THE DEEP OCEAN IS
ALMOST LIKE A DIFFERENT PLANET.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT
TEMPERATURE, PRESSURE, LIGHT,
IT'LL BE DIFFERENT IN THE
DEEP OCEAN THAN IT IS ON LAND.
SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THESE
VERY STRANGE CREATURES,
THEY'RE BASICALLY ADAPTED
TO A DIFFERENT PLANET.
Narrator: MARINE BIOLOGIST TERESA GREELY,
FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA,
EXAMINES THE FILM.
SHE LOOKS AT THE PROPORTIONS
OF THE CREATURE'S BODY.
Greely: THIS PARTICULAR CREATURE,
WE SEE A LARGE HEAD-LIKE STRUCTURE
AND SOME ELONGATED ARMS
THAT SEEM EXTRAORDINARILY
LONG FOR THE SIZE OF THIS HEAD.
WE MOST CLOSELY COULD RELATE
THAT TO A GROUP OF ORGANISMS,
THE CEPHALOPODS, WHICH
INCLUDES THE OCTOPI AND THE SQUID.
IF WE LOOK EVEN CLOSER AT THE IMAGE
AND COUNT THE NUMBER OF
EXTENSIONS FROM THE BODY,
WE COUNT 10, AND THAT'S UNIQUE TO SQUID.
Narrator: WHATEVER ITS ORIGIN,
THE ALIEN-LOOKING BEAST
HAS SOME THINGS IN COMMON
WITH A GROUP OF CEPHALOPODS
KNOWN AS MAGNAPINNA.
COULD THIS BE THE FIRST
EVER SIGHTING OF AN ADULT?
RESEARCHERS HAVE FOUND
JUVENILES OF THIS SPECIES BEFORE,
BUT WE'VE NEVER CAUGHT AN ADULT.
SO THAT WOULD BE MY BEST GUESS.
Farrow: THE DEEP OCEAN
IS RELATIVELY UNEXPLORED.
AND IN OUR FIRST FORAYS INTO IT,
WE'RE DISCOVERING VERY
WEIRD, ALIEN-LOOKING SQUID,
SO IMAGINE WHAT WE CAN
FIND IF WE LOOK DEEPER.
♪♪
Narrator: NOW, SURVEILLANCE
CAMERAS CAPTURE A TOXIC CLOUD
ENGULFING AN ILLINOIS TOWN.
Knoup: YOU'RE DROWNING. YOU CAN'T BREATHE.
YOU HAVE A BURNING FEELING IN YOUR LUNGS.
Narrator: THE KILLER CLOUD
LEAVES LIVESTOCK DEAD.
THE HUMANS ARE NEXT.
Pojman: IF YOU GET CAUGHT IN THIS CLOUD,
YOUR CHANCES OF SURVIVAL ARE NEXT TO ZERO.
Pappalardo: COULD IT BE TERRORISM?
COULD IT BE AN INDUSTRIAL
CHEMICAL THAT'S BEEN WEAPONIZED?
♪♪
Narrator: SEWARD, ILLINOIS.
APRIL 23, 2007, 7:00 P.M.
SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS KEEP A WATCHFUL EYE
ON A PARKING LOT IN THE CENTER OF TOWN.
ALL APPEARS NORMAL, UNTIL...
Pappalardo: PEOPLE ARE
RUNNING AWAY FROM SOMETHING.
THEY'RE CLEARLY SCARED.
THEY'RE CLEARLY FLEEING FOR THEIR LIVES.
Narrator: THE CAMERA RECORDS THE MASS PANIC
AS PEOPLE FLEE THE VICINITY.
♪♪
AND THEN IT APPEARS.
A FOG CREEPING ALONG THE GROUND,
ENGULFING EVERYTHING IN ITS PATH.
Pappalardo: THE WAY THAT IT MOVES,
IT ALMOST HAS ITS OWN
SORT OF LIFE BEHIND IT.
IT BEHAVES AS IF IT'S ALIVE.
Narrator: FIREFIGHTER MIKE KNOUP,
BASED AT THE NEARBY TOWN OF PECATONICA,
REACTS TO A 911 CALL.
Knoup: WE COULD ACTUALLY SEE THE CLOUD
STARTING TO DEVELOP ON
THE SOUTH EDGE OF TOWN,
SO WE DECIDED TO EVACUATE THE COMMUNITY.
WE NEEDED TO GET THEM OUT QUICKLY,
SO THEY WERE RUNNING DOOR TO DOOR
SAYING YOU NEEDED TO GET OUT NOW.
Narrator: THE FIRST, BRIEFEST
CONTACT WITH THE CLOUD
SENDS FIREFIGHTERS RUNNING.
Knoup: IT FEELS LIKE YOU'RE DROWNING,
KIND OF A BURNING FEELING IN YOUR LUNGS.
IT HURTS TO TAKE A BREATH.
Narrator: AMBULANCES RUSH
KNOUP AND FIVE FIREFIGHTERS
TO THE HOSPITAL,
WHERE THEY'RE TREATED FOR CHEMICAL BURNS.
AFTER THE CLOUD HAS DRIFTED THROUGH TOWN
TO DESTINATIONS UNKNOWN,
SEWARD SLAUGHTERHOUSE MANAGER
TOM EICKMAN RETURNS TO WORK.
HE MAKES A TERRIBLE DISCOVERY.
THE VEGETATION IN THE EVACUATION
AREA IS TURNING A DEATHLY COLOR.
EVERYTHING THAT WAS LIVING
IN TOWN ENDED UP DYING.
WHEREVER THAT CLOUD HAD
TRAVELED TO TENDED TO DIE OFF.
Narrator: BUT THERE'S WORSE TO COME.
EICKMAN HAD BEEN FORCED
TO LEAVE LIVE ANIMALS
IN THE SLAUGHTERHOUSE,
BUT THEY WEREN'T ANYMORE.
WE HAD FOUR CATTLE THAT
WERE OFF IN OUR BACK PEN,
AND THOSE FOUR CATTLE WERE
ALL LAYING ON THE GROUND.
OF THE SIX HOGS IN THE PEN,
TWO OF THEM WERE DECEASED.
Narrator: THEY'RE UNFIT
FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION.
BUT BEFORE DESTROYING THEM,
EICKMAN CUTS ONE ANIMAL OPEN
TO SEE THE EFFECTS OF THE CLOUD.
WHAT HE SEES IS TRULY CHILLING.
THE TYPICAL HOG LUNG IS
JUST A PINK KIND OF MASS,
AND HERE WE HAVE THESE
HOG LUNGS, ALL TURNED BLACK.
WHATEVER THAT HOG HAD BREATHED
IN LOOKED LIKE IT HAD BURNED
AND HAD KILLED OFF THE LUNG TISSUE.
Narrator: MATERIAL SCIENTIST KISHORE HARI
THINKS HE'S SEEN A GAS
BEFORE THAT KILLS LIKE THIS.
THIS REMINDS ME OF SCENES
THAT PLAYED OUT IN WORLD WAR I,
WITH GASES SLOWLY CREEPING
OVER THE BATTLEFIELD,
SINKING INTO THE TRENCHES,
AND POISONING THE SOLDIERS.
Narrator: THE INCIDENT SUGGESTS
SOMETHING TERRIFYING...
A MUSTARD GAS ATTACK ON AMERICAN SOIL.
IN WORLD WAR I, MUSTARD
GAS TOOK THOUSANDS OF LIVES,
VICTIMS SUFFERING AGONIZING BLISTERS
AND BLEEDING IN THEIR LUNGS.
IT WAS GERMAN FORCES
WHO UNLEASHED THIS GAS,
THE FIRST TRUE WEAPON OF
MASS DESTRUCTION, IN 1917.
THE SURVEILLANCE FOOTAGE IS EXAMINED
BY LOCAL HISTORIAN DAVID LAWRENCE.
HE BELIEVES, IF IT IS MUSTARD GAS,
HE KNOWS A POTENTIAL
SOURCE FOR THIS WORLD WAR I
TOXIC TERROR WEAPON.
IT MIGHT BE STORED JUST A COUPLE
OF HUNDRED MILES FROM SEWARD
IN A MICHIGAN TOWN.
Lawrence: MIDLAND WAS THE
EPICENTER OF THE NATION
FOR THE PRODUCTION OF MUSTARD GAS.
DURING WORLD WAR I, IN MIDLAND,
SEVERAL THOUSAND TONS
OF MUSTARD GAS WERE MADE.
Narrator: LAWRENCE DISCOVERS
THAT IN 1917, A TOP-SECRET
PROGRAM CODE-NAMED G-34
PRODUCED MUSTARD GAS
FOR USE ON THE BATTLEFIELD.
WHEN THE FIRST WORLD WAR ENDED,
MOST OF THE REMAINING DEADLY
GAS WAS DUMPED IN THE ATLANTIC,
BUT IT'S BELIEVED SOME NEVER
LEFT THE FACTORY IN MIDLAND.
THEY BURIED IT THERE IN A DISPOSAL AREA,
AND SUPPOSEDLY IT'S STILL THERE.
Pappalardo: THESE THINGS PERSIST
FOR DECADES AND DECADES.
THOSE CHEMICALS ARE STILL
WAITING TO BE RELEASED.
IT'S A TIME BOMB WAITING TO GO OFF.
Narrator: HAVE CLOUDS OF DEADLY MUSTARD GAS
BEEN RELEASED IN THE U.S.,
THREATENING EVERYTHING IN ITS PATH?
COMING UP... FIERCE
FLASHES TERRIFY ONLOOKERS.
IS THIS AMERICAN CITY UNDER ATTACK?
Luenser: IT WAS JUST WHAT
LOOKED LIKE A BATTLEFIELD.
I THOUGHT WE WERE BEING BOMBED.
Narrator: AND EXPERTS RACE TO
SOLVE THE MYSTERY TOXIC GAS
BEFORE THE DEATH TOLL RISES.
Knoup: WE DID NOT KNOW THE SEVERITY
OF THE BURNS TO THE LUNGS.
THEY HAD TO RUN FOR THEIR LIVES.
♪♪
Narrator: WHEN A DEATHLY FOG
DESCENDS ON SEWARD, ILLINOIS,
EYEWITNESSES REPORT SIMILAR
INJURIES TO THOSE INFLICTED
BY WORLD WAR I KILLER MUSTARD GAS.
IT STARTS TO ATTACK YOUR
SKIN, AND IT'S ACTUALLY A HOT,
BURNING SENSATION ON YOUR SKIN.
Narrator: PROFESSOR JOHN POJMAN,
A CHEMIST AS LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY,
FORENSICALLY EXAMINES THE CLOUD.
HE REVEALS THAT THE MYSTERIOUS VAPOR
DOES NOT HAVE THE CHARACTERISTIC
YELLOW COLOR OF MUSTARD GAS.
INSTEAD, HE SUSPECTS THE
LOCATION OF THE PARKING LOT
IS A KEY TO IDENTIFYING THE TOXIC CLOUD.
THERE ARE SOME CLUES IN THE VIDEO.
IT'S CLEARLY AN AGRICULTURAL AREA,
AND FERTILIZERS ARE EXTREMELY
IMPORTANT FOR AGRICULTURE.
FERTILIZER CAN BE APPLIED AS A SOLID.
IT COULD BE APPLIED IN A SOLUTION
THAT'S SPRAYED ONTO A CROP.
BUT, SURPRISINGLY, THEY
ALSO CAN BE APPLIED AS A GAS.
Narrator: POJMAN IS AWARE
OF ONE NITROGEN-RICH GAS
WHICH BEHAVES LIKE THE
MYSTERIOUS CREEPING MIST
IN THE FOOTAGE.
AMMONIA.
Pojman: AMMONIA IS A SIMPLE MOLECULE.
IT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT CAN BE USED
AS A SOURCE OF NITROGEN FOR PLANTS.
THAT'S WHY IT'S USED AS A FERTILIZER.
Narrator: EXPERTS IDENTIFY AN
AGRICULTURAL PLANT CLOSE-BY
AS THE SOURCE OF THE
DEADLY AMMONIA GAS LEAK.
DEPUTY FIRE CHIEF MIKE KNOUP CONFIRMS
THAT THESE TWO PEOPLE RUNNING FROM THE GAS
ARE EMPLOYEES OF THE PLANT.
YOU CAN SEE THE OPERATORS
RUNNING FROM THE CLOUD.
THEY HANDLE AMMONIA ON A
REGULAR BASIS AND REALIZE
THAT THIS WAS A DANGER.
Narrator: INVESTIGATORS
DISCOVER THE AMMONIA LEAKS
FROM A MALFUNCTIONING VALVE
AS THE OPERATORS PUMP
THE GAS INTO A HOLDING TANK.
IT WAS AN 8,000-GALLON TANK
THAT WAS RELEASING ALL OF ITS
CONTENTS INTO THE COMMUNITY.
WITH THAT VALVE MALFUNCTION
AND THE GAS RELEASING QUICKLY,
THEY HAD TO RUN FOR THEIR LIVES.
Narrator: REMARKABLY, NO HUMANS DIE
IN THIS TERRIFYING TOXIC GAS LEAK.
BUT SOME FEAR IT'S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME
BEFORE ANOTHER SUCH
DEADLY CLOUD BREAKS FREE.
YOU WOULD REALLY BE SURPRISED
WHAT CHEMICALS ARE AROUND YOU.
THERE'S AN INHERENT DANGER
THAT YOU COULD BE IN THE AREA
OF A HAZARDOUS CHEMICAL OR GAS.
♪♪
Narrator: NOW, TERRIFYING FLASHES
LIGHT UP THE TEXAS SKYLINE.
I KNEW SOMETHING WAS GOING WRONG.
SOMETHING WAS GOING HORRIBLY WRONG.
Narrator: FEARS OF FOREIGN MILITARY ACTION.
Hari: THERE'S SOMETHING
REALLY DAMAGING HAPPENING.
THESE ARE GIANT EXPLOSIONS.
♪♪
Narrator: FORT WORTH, TEXAS.
MAY 10, 2011, 9:30 P.M.
AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER BRIAN LUENSER
RETURNS TO HIS 34th-FLOOR APARTMENT.
A BIG STORM IS ON THE HORIZON,
AND HE WANTS TO GO GET SOME PHOTOS.
THE STORM KIND OF PASSED US BY.
AND I WAS KIND OF DISAPPOINTED,
AND THAT'S WHEN ALL OF THE
SUDDEN THE CRAZINESS STARTED.
Narrator: WITNESSES WATCH
IN HORROR AS BLUE FLASHES
LIGHT UP THE CITY SKYLINE
IN SEVERAL PLACES AT ONCE.
Luenser: IT WASN'T JUST IN ONE LOCATION.
I'M SEEING IT LEFT AND RIGHT.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M LOOKING AT.
IT WASN'T LIKE ANYTHING
I'D EVER SEEN BEFORE.
I COULDN'T REALLY PROCESS IT.
Narrator: WHATEVER IT IS,
HE FEARS THE CITY IS IN MORTAL DANGER.
I WAS JUST SCARED. I WAS IN PANIC MODE.
HOW COULD YOU HAVE SO
MANY DIFFERENT EXPLOSIONS
IN SO MANY DIFFERENT
AREAS AT THE SAME TIME?
Narrator: MILITARY TECH JOURNALIST
JOE PAPPALARDO ANALYZES
THE FOOTAGE FOR CLUES.
HE KNOWS THIS PART OF THE WORLD
IS CLOSE TO MILITARY INSTALLATIONS.
PAPPALARDO SUSPECTS THE
CITYWIDE EXPLOSIONS IN THE FOOTAGE
COULD BE SOME KIND OF FRIENDLY FIRE.
Pappalardo: IT'S NOT IMPLAUSIBLE
THAT THE MILITARY WOULD BE DOING
AN EXERCISE IN A DOWNTOWN URBAN AREA.
THEY'VE DONE MILITARY
EXERCISES IN FORT WORTH BEFORE.
♪♪
Narrator: BUT WHEN IMAGE
ANALYST CONOR McCOURT
STUDIES THE FOOTAGE,
HE BELIEVES CLUES IN THE COLOR
OF THE FLASHES POINT
TO A DIFFERENT EXPLANATION.
McCourt: WE'RE GETTING A SERIES
OF BLUE FLASHING LIGHTS OVER HERE,
OVER HERE, OVER HERE.
THIS WOULD INDICATE THAT
MAYBE IT'S ELECTRICAL IN NATURE,
WHATEVER'S GOING ON.
Narrator: McCOURT NOTICES
WHOLE BLOCKS LOSING POWER.
IT'S THE ABSENCE OF CITY
LIGHTS THAT CONFIRMS HIS THEORY.
IF THIS WAS AN ELECTRICAL OCCURRENCE,
I MIGHT EXPECT A BLACKOUT
WHERE IT'S HAPPENING.
THERE IS A DARK SPOT RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE.
COULD BE INDICATIVE OF A BLACKOUT.
Narrator: A CHECK OF RECORDS REVEALS
FORT WORTH DOES SUFFER A
SEVERE BLACKOUT THAT EVENING.
OVER 4,000 PEOPLE LOSE POWER.
DAVID WALLACE, AN ELECTRICAL ENGINEER
AT MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY,
INVESTIGATES IF THERE IS A CONNECTION
BETWEEN THE FRIGHTENING
BLUE FLASHES AND THE BLACKOUTS.
IF YOU THINK ABOUT EXOTIC MILITARY WEAPONS
THAT COULD CAUSE DAMAGE
LIKE WE'RE SEEING HERE,
THERE'S ONE THAT COMES TO MIND
THAT WAS REALLY A BYPRODUCT
OF THE NUCLEAR BOMB.
Narrator: DURING TESTS IN THE 1960s,
THE U.S. GOVERNMENT DISCOVERS
AN UNEXPECTED SIDE EFFECT
OF A NUCLEAR EXPLOSION.
ASIDE FROM THE POWER OF
THE BLAST, A NUCLEAR BOMB
ALSO RELEASES A POWERFUL
ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVE,
CAPABLE OF KNOCKING OUT STREETLIGHTS
AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
HUNDREDS OF MILES FROM GROUND ZERO.
THE MILITARY CALLS IT EMP.
EMP STANDS FOR ELECTROMAGNETIC PULSE.
IT'S ENOUGH ENERGY EMITTED THAT ANYTHING
WITH AN ELECTRICAL COMPONENT
CAN BE BURNED OUT AND RENDERED USELESS.
Narrator: U.S. COLD WAR WARRIORS
REALIZE EMPs CAN BE WEAPONIZED.
WALLACE DISCOVERS THAT, OVER THE DECADES,
THE UNITED STATES PERFECTED
THE TECHNOLOGY TO WIPE OUT
AND ERASE ENEMY COMMUNICATIONS.
WHAT THEY'VE BEEN DOING
IS TRYING TO MINIATURIZE IT,
MAKE IT MORE SMALL-SCALE, MORE PORTABLE,
AND BE ABLE TO DO THE SAME EFFECT
BUT WITHOUT HAVING A NUCLEAR EXPLOSION.
COULD THIS BE SOMETHING
LIKE WE'RE SEEING IN THE VIDEO?
Narrator: COMING UP... SKY-FALL.
IT'S BIG, IT COMES FROM ABOVE,
AND IT ALMOST KILLS A MOTHER AND CHILD.
THEY'RE LUCKY TO BE ALIVE.
Narrator: AND FORENSIC
INVESTIGATION OF THE FLASHES
THAT BRING TERROR TO TEXAS.
Wallace: IT'S LIKE A BOMB GOING OFF.
AND WHEN THEY EXPLODE, IT AIN'T PRETTY.
♪♪
Narrator: DAVID WALLACE,
AN ELECTRICAL ENGINEER
AT MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY,
INVESTIGATES THE CAUSE OF
A SERIES OF EXPLOSIVE POWER
OUTAGES ACROSS FORT WORTH.
HE DEVISES AN EXPERIMENT TO FIND OUT
IF AN EMP COULD CAUSE THE SAME BLUE FLASHES
AS SEEN IN THE SURVEILLANCE FOOTAGE.
SO, WHAT WE WANT TO
DO TODAY IS BUILD AN EMP.
I THINK WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO
GET THIS GOOD LITTLE SYSTEM GOING.
Narrator: THE TEAM SETS
AN IMPULSE GENERATOR
TO CREATE THE ELECTROMAGNETIC PULSE.
DESIGNED FOR HIGH-ENERGY
PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS,
THE GENERATOR HARNESSES THE POWER STORED
IN MULTIPLE CAPACITORS
AND RELEASES IT IN A NANOSECOND.
THEY'LL DIRECT THE MASSIVE
VOLTAGE SPIKE INTO THIS REGULAR
WORKING COMPUTER.
IT'S GONNA GENERATE
APPROXIMATELY 80,000 VOLTS.
WE'RE GONNA DISCHARGE ALL OF THIS POWER,
AND ANYTHING UNDERNEATH
THIS WILL EXPERIENCE
THE FULL FORCE OF THE EMP.
WILL IT TURN IT OFF? WILL IT BLOW IT UP?
LET'S FIND OUT.
ALL CLEAR! EVERYBODY OUT.
WE'RE GETTING READY TO GO HOT.
LET'S START THE SYSTEM, AND
GIVE ME A CHARGE OF 80,000.
10,000!
ALL RIGHT, LOOKING GOOD SO FAR.
20,000!
30,000!
SO IT'S GONNA BE A LOT OF JUICE HERE.
-70,000! -LET'S GET READY TO FIRE.
ALL RIGHT, WE'RE AT 80,000.
ALL RIGHT. 3, 2, 1, FIRE.
♪♪
ALL RIGHT, LET'S GO SEE WHAT THIS BABY DID.
WELL, LOOKY HERE.
THE COMPUTER'S OFF.
EVERYTHING'S DEAD.
THE COMPUTER'S DEAD. THE MONITOR'S DEAD.
NOTHING'S COMING UP.
SO WE'VE OBVIOUSLY FRIED
THE ELECTRONIC CIRCUITRY IN IT
WITH THE PULSE.
Narrator: WALLACE'S EMP KILLS THE COMPUTER,
CREATING A BLACKOUT JUST LIKE IN THE CLIP.
BUT THAT'S WHERE THE SIMILARITIES END.
THE EXPERIMENT CREATES NO EXPLOSIONS
OR VIVID BLUE BURSTS OF ELECTRICAL ENERGY
AS SEEN IN THE FORT WORTH FOOTAGE.
THIS TENDS TO LEAD ME TO
BELIEVE IT WAS NOT AN EMP
THAT WE WITNESSED INSIDE THE VIDEO.
Narrator: WHEN IMAGE ANALYST CONOR McCOURT
RETURNS TO THE FOOTAGE,
HE SPOTS A VITAL CLUE
THAT MAY CRACK THE MYSTERY
OF THE TEXAS MELTDOWN.
WE HAVE A KEY PIECE OF EVIDENCE RIGHT HERE
NEXT TO THIS BLUE FLASH.
RIGHT JUST TO THE LEFT, WE
SEE A SERIES OF POWER LINES
GOING RIGHT UP TO THE EXPLOSION AREA.
SO IF WE GO STEP BY STEP,
THE POWER LINES ARE REVEALED.
THEY'RE ILLUMINATED RIGHT THERE.
♪♪
Narrator: McCOURT ALSO SPOTS
ANOTHER CLUE IN THE FOOTAGE...
A FLASH IN THE SKY.
HE REALIZES THE STORM HADN'T FULLY PASSED
WHEN THE EXPLOSIONS ERUPT.
THERE'S AN INCREDIBLE AMOUNT OF ENERGY
CRACKLING THROUGH THE AIR
WHEN THESE EXPLOSIONS HAPPEN.
SOME SORT OF LIGHTNING STRIKE
CAUSED A BUNCH OF OUTAGES
AT DIFFERENT PLACES THROUGHOUT THE CITY
AND THAT RIPPLE EFFECT
OF MULTIPLE EXPLOSIONS
ALONG THE WAY.
Narrator: HARI CONCLUDES
THAT A LIGHTNING BOLT
HITS ONE OF THE CITY'S POWER TRANSFORMERS,
GENERATING TEMPERATURES HOTTER
THAN THE SURFACE OF THE SUN...
MORE THAN ENOUGH TO BLOW UP A TRANSFORMER,
WHICH IN TURN SETS OFF A DOMINO EFFECT.
WE HAVE SOME SORT OF
VOLTAGE SPIKE THAT ENTERED
A TRANSFORMER, BLEW IT UP.
AND THAT VOLTAGE SPIKE JUST CONTINUED,
CREATING A CASCADING EFFECT OF TRANSFORMERS
BLOWING UP AND UP AND UP.
Wallace: IT'S LIKE A BOMB GOING OFF.
AND WHEN THEY EXPLODE, IT AIN'T PRETTY.
Narrator: THE ELECTRIC COMPANY
THAT SERVES FORT WORTH CONFIRMS
THAT LIGHTNING STRIKES CAUSED
THESE FLUORESCENT FLASHES.
BUT WITNESSES WILL NEVER
FORGET THE INTENSITY OF THE IMPACT
IT HAD ON THEM.
Luenser: I WAS IN PANIC MODE.
MY WIFE WAS, ALSO.
SHE THOUGHT THE WORLD WAS COMING TO AN END.
♪♪
Narrator: COMING UP... A
RUSSIAN SURVEILLANCE CAMERA
CAPTURES A TERRIFYING NEAR MISS.
Wolshon: THIS IS VERY DRAMATIC FOOTAGE.
THEY'RE LUCKY TO BE ALIVE.
♪♪
Narrator: A RUSSIAN SURVEILLANCE CAMERA
CAPTURES A TERRIFYING NEAR MISS.
THERE WAS NO WAY YOU
COULD HAVE ANTICIPATED THAT.
Narrator: ANALYSTS SUSPECT A SINISTER FORCE
IS BEHIND THIS MASSIVE
STRUCTURE FALLING FROM THE SKY.
COULD IT BE SOME KIND OF EXPLOSION?
COMES OUT OF NOWHERE.
♪♪
Narrator: SOUTHWEST RUSSIA.
MARCH 19, 2016, 4:00 P.M.
A SURVEILLANCE CAMERA
KEEPS WATCH ON THE TOWN SQUARE OF LABINSK
AND RECORDS A HORRIFYING MOMENT.
♪♪
IT JUST LANDS, YOU KNOW,
WHERE THIS WOMAN AND CHILD
WERE MOMENTS BEFORE.
IS THIS SOME KIND OF A NATURAL PHENOMENON
THAT WE JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND?
Narrator: PHYSICIST SIMON FOSTER
NOTICES THAT THE STRUCTURE FALLS
FROM A NEARBY BUILDING.
HE ALSO SPOTS A TINY CLUE
THAT POINTS TO FREAK WEATHER
AS THE ROOF-RAISING CULPRIT.
IT MAY NOT BE THAT
OBVIOUS AT THE STREET LEVEL.
WHAT'S INTERESTING IS
ACTUALLY IN THE DISTANCE,
IF YOU SEE THOSE TREES.
THE TREES ARE SWAYING A LOT.
♪♪
Narrator: CIVIL ENGINEER
BRIAN WOLSHON KNOWS
OF ONE WIND PHENOMENON POWERFUL ENOUGH
TO CAUSE THE DESTRUCTION
IN THE SURVEILLANCE FOOTAGE.
WHEN I SEE A ROOF FLYING THROUGH THE AIR,
THAT WOULD NORMALLY
MAKE ME THINK OF A HURRICANE.
HERE IN LOUISIANA, WHERE
WE'VE HAD HURRICANES
LIKE HURRICANE KATRINA AND HURRICANE RITA
AND HURRICANE GUSTAV,
I'VE ACTUALLY SEEN ROOFS
TORN CLEAR OFF OF BUILDINGS.
THOSE WERE VERY, VERY POWERFUL STORMS.
Narrator: BUT STORM CHASER GEORGE KOUROUNIS
HAS FIRSTHAND EXPERIENCE
OF WEIRD AND WILD WEATHER.
WHEN HE ANALYZES THE
PASSERSBY IN THE FOOTAGE,
HE SEES A PROBLEM WITH
THE HURRICANE THEORY.
Kourounis: THE CURIOUS
THING ABOUT THIS VIDEO
IS THAT THESE PEOPLE ARE
WALKING DOWN THE STREET,
AND THEY'RE NOT BRACING AGAINST THE WIND.
THEY'RE NOT IN SOME GIANT WINDSTORM.
♪♪
Narrator: PHYSICIST SIMON
FOSTER TURNS HIS ATTENTION
FROM THE ELEMENTS TO THE ROOF ITSELF.
ALTHOUGH THE FOOTAGE ONLY
CAPTURES THE ROOF LANDING,
HE WONDERS IF ITS SHAPE MIGHT HOLD THE KEY.
Foster: THE WAY THE ROOF HAS COME OFF,
IT HAS COME OFF IN ONE SOLID PIECE.
THAT INDICATES TO ME THE STRUCTURE OF IT,
HOW IT'S BUILT, AS BEING A
KEY IN WHY IT'S COME OFF.
THIS SOUNDS BIZARRE, BUT
THE ROOF WAS ACTUALLY ANGLED,
AND IT COULD ALMOST BE LIKE A WING.
Narrator: NYU PHYSICIST JOHN DI BARTOLO
CONSIDERS HOW A WING-SHAPED
ROOF MIGHT TAKE FLIGHT.
Di Bartolo: IF YOU WERE
TO CUT A CROSS-SECTION
OF THE AIRPLANE WING,
YOU WOULD SEE THAT THE
UPPER PART IS MORE CURVED
THAN THE LOWER PART.
THAT FORCES THE AIR TO TRAVEL FASTER
OVER THE TOP OF THE PLANE THAN UNDERNEATH.
THAT CAUSES THE PRESSURE
TO BE LOWER ON THE TOP PART
OF THE WING THAN UNDERNEATH,
WHICH PROVIDES A LIFT.
Foster: THE AIRFLOW AROUND
THIS ROOF STRUCTURE
HAS GIVEN A HUGE AMOUNT OF LIFT,
JUST LIKE A WING ON A PLANE.
BASICALLY, IT RIPPED IT OFF
AND DEPOSITED IT IN THE
MIDDLE OF THIS SQUARE.
Narrator: THIS RAISES
ANOTHER INTRIGUING QUESTION.
HOW CAN EVEN A WING-SHAPED ROOF TAKE FLIGHT
ON A RELATIVELY CALM DAY?
WHEN WE THINK OF DESTRUCTIVE WINDS,
WE IMAGINE THINGS LIKE
TORNADOES OR HURRICANES.
WELL, YES, BUT UNDER THE RIGHT CONDITIONS,
YOU ONLY NEED A WIND SPEED OF 30, 40,
50 MILES AN HOUR TO CAUSE
SOME TREMENDOUS DAMAGE.
AND I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY
WHAT'S GOING ON HERE.
Di Bartolo: IF THOSE PEOPLE WERE
WALKING A LITTLE BIT SLOWER,
THEY WOULD'VE BEEN UNDER THAT ROOF,
AND THAT WOULD'VE BEEN THE END OF IT.