Mystery behind Google Maps showing 'underwater island' in Arabian Sea near Kochi

Visible on Google Maps' satellite imagery, a bean-shaped 'underwater island' in the Arabian Sea near Kerala's Kochi has left many baffled. Experts assume it to be an underwater structure as no 'visible' structure that is even remotely close to an island has been observed in the sea. 

Officials of the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS) are planning to investigate the matter further.

The phenomenon came to the attention of Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS) officials after an organisation named the Chellanam Karshika Tourism Development Society, wrote a letter to authorities.

The organisation's President Advocate KX Julappan, in a Facebook post earlier this month, shared the screenshot of Google Maps showing the formation of the bean-shaped 'underwater island' in the Arabian Sea about seven km west of the Kochi coast.

As per the map, he claimed that the island-like formation about half the size of west Kochi or Pashchima Kochi had a length of eight km and a width of 3.5 km.

KUFOS will conduct meetings with other experts and check the possibilities of conducting a study. Meanwhile, representatives of the Chellanam Karshika Tourism Development Society have stated that this formation was being observed since the past four years and that it was not seen to be expanding in size.

The coastal village of Chellanam in Ernakulam district which is located close to the coast near the formation has been witnessing severe coastal erosion since 2017.

As per the direction of the Kerala government, the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS) is developing a project to find a sustainable solution to Chellanam's problem.