Mud island in Balochistan is sinking

24 Oct, 2013

ISLAMABAD: A mud island from the sea off Balochistan's Gwadar port as a result of a powerful earthquake last month is now vanishing as predicted.

The island named `Earthquake Island', about 250 miles from the epicenter of the earthquake, has attracted global curiosity, but scientists had forecast that it would not last long and will disappear in couple of months, private news channel reported.

They said methane gas under the seafloor pushed up the big pile of mud. When it emerged near the port of Gwadar after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake, the island was about 70 feet high, 300 feet wide and 120 feet long.

Fresh satellite images show the island sinking in the sea up to 10 feet, with a little sand around it.

Samples collected by experts of the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) are being analyzed as more facts about the island are likely to be unveiled next month.

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