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Bizarre ’Brinicle’ forms beneath the sea, kills everything in its path

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  • Published Nov 25, 2011 2:14 pm KST
  • Updated Nov 25, 2011 2:14 pm KST

An underwater ”icicle of death” which sinks to the seabed destroying everything it comes into contact with has been caught on camera for the first time, the Daily Mail reported Thursday.

The sinking brine is so cold that it causes the seawater to freeze around it.

BBC film crews recorded the brinicle for the first time ever as it sunk to the bottom of the sea in Antarctica, the report said.

When it hits the seabed, a web of ice spreads killing sea urchins and starfish.

The remarkable underwater footage was filmed for Frozen Planet on BBC One using timelapse technology, the newspaper said.

The “icicle of death”' grew so rapidly towards the seabed that teams could see it advancing before their eyes, it said. Brine falls to the surface as it is a lot more dense than seawater.