As reported earlier, Pakistan and India were both shaken by a strong 7.8 magnitude earthquake with numerous aftershocks. While the damage and the casualties from the quake are not fully known yet although according to Raza news agency the latest death toll is at 45, one quite stunning development has emerged, quite literally, out of the sea. As Pakistani's The News [6]reports, an entire island emerged off the country's Gwadar coast in the aftermath of the quake. "According to DIG Gwadar Moazzam Jah, the island's altitude is 20 to 40 feet and width around 100 feet. Talking to Geo news, the DIG said that the island emerged at a distance of 350 feet in the sea from the Gwadar coast." We hope this is not some very elaborate mass media hoax.
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The local Tribune [8](with various other media confirming [9]too just in case this is some very elaborate media hoax) adds more:
On the Gwadar coastline, the quake created a small island about half a mile into the sea near an area called ‘Jhanda’, according to Express News.
The newly appearing island is said to have a mountainous terrain rising up to a hundred feet. A large crowd was seen gathering at the site to see the new island.
What is curious is that the shocking formation is quite close to the border with Iran, and in close proximity to the Gulf of Oman, best known as the favorite anchoring spot of US Aircraft Carriers patrolling the Straits of Hormuz.
View Larger Map [10]
How long until US military claims this new rock as a new naval base which just happens to be in close proximity to Iran's eastern maritime border?
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Update: we have confirmation from Reuters [11]that the new island was in fact not a hoax:
The earthquake was so powerful that it caused the seabed to rise and create a small, mountain-like island about 600 meters (yards) off Pakistan's Gwadar coastline in the Arabian Sea.
Television channels showed images of a stretch of rocky terrain rising above the sea level, with a crowd of bewildered people gathering on the shore to witness the rare phenomenon.