‘Should we start running?’: Mysterious black smoke ring spotted in Sentosa sky
A black smoke ring appeared in the sky in Sentosa on Sunday, leaving many at Tanjong Beach curious as to what the phenomenon was.
Marketing associate Nuruddin Selamat was one of them.
The 31-year-old filmed the bizarre sight before posting it on video sharing platform TikTok.
In his video, playfully captioned “errmmm, should we start running?”, a huge black smoke ring can be seen floating over palm trees on the beach. The clip has been viewed over 17,000 times.
Mr Nuruddin, who was having a drink and some snacks with his friends when he spotted the smoke ring, said: “Honestly, we were super confused, and we thought it was a swarm of bees.
“I was actually thinking if I should run, but I decided to take a video first because no one would believe me if I did not have evidence.”
He added that the other beach goers around him were also curious, and many followed it as it drifted.
Mr Nuruddin said that the smokey oddity moved very slowly, and appeared to fade over time.
The mysterious smoke ring has been sighted elsewhere previously.
In March this year, one was spotted in Moscow, and Ukraine’s minister of internal affairs Anton Gerashchenko shared a clip of it on social media platform Twitter.
According to various media reports online, they could be vortex rings, which are formed when there is a sudden release of air or gas, or when smoke, dust or steam particles become trapped in a ‘vortex’.
They can reportedly be created during the testing of explosives, chemical reactions, or when a volcano erupts.
The Straits Times has reached out to Sentosa, as well as meteorological experts for information.
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