Horror and mystery of The Mines North Lake draws netizens’ attention

 

DEEP lakes with dark, lightless bottoms have often captured peoples’ imagination.

Therefore it comes as no surprise when a recent video post on the North Lake of The Mines grabbed netizens’ attention.

According to the video, the lake was once the deepest mine in the world, charting a depth of 180 metres or similar to the height of the Petronas Twin Tower (KLCC).

The video continued, saying that if seen from above, a bus at the bottom of the lake would look like a match-box.

On a less believable note, the video claimed fishes the size of a bus also inhabited the murky depths. Also, the place drew anglers and that several lives had been lost there already.

But here comes the voluntary fact-check crew composed of the netizens to unravel the dark mystery of the North Lake. 

HRH Clown Prince of Crime stated the lake was 180 metres while the KLCC was at 452 metres, or 2.5 times taller, hence the information being false.

A quick visit to the KLCC website showed the information from HRH Clown Prince of Crime to be accurate.

Then there was netizen Jai-yen who helpfully added a photo of the mine before it was flooded with water. 

“If it was not being flooded with water, we could have made a theme park like the Sunway Lagoon,” said Jai-yen.

Yusoff Bachek recalled the first time he went to Kuala Lumpur riding on the KTM from Johor Bahru in 1978. Upon passing Sungai Besi, he observed the mine which was yet to be filled with water. 

“It was very deep. The lorry within the mine was so small. It was probably as deep as a building about 20 to 30 stories,” he said.

Another netizen said the story about buses being the size of matchboxes may be hearsay. However, the large fishes may be true.

“There was a case where the bottom of the pontoon boat broke while crossing the middle of the lake from the hotel to the mall during 2006. I worked at the boat some time ago after passing my SPM,” he said.

Away from the netizens, pagenation.com said the Mines North Lake was once the world’s largest open cast tin mine.

The website claimed the mine measured two km across, one km wide and 200 metres deep. When mining activities ceased the hole filled with rainwater and the two lakes were formed. 

Fun fact, as of 2023, the Bingham Canyon mine in Utah, United States, is the deepest open-pit mine in the world, with a depth of more than 1.2km. Bingham Canyon was established in 1906 as a copper mine—Focus Malaysia