Spelunkers try to determine cave's mysterious sounds

Four American cave explorers who visited the mysterious Al Jeer cave in Ras Al Khaimah to determine the source of strange sounds said to emanate from it, said the culprits were probably children trying to scare their elders.

Bubba and Robin White, Andy Commare and Winnie Abeliardo, all fully equipped, climbed the mountain and entered the cave late yesterday evening. One of them, Bubba White, said: "The sounds are made by the children in the area and it is they who climb the mountain daily and produce these sounds to scare the people in the neighbourhood."

He said his group had heard about strange voices and demons living in the mountains from colleagues and national friends who live in the emirate. The four of them then decided to climb the mountain and discover for themselves the source of these strange sounds.

Andy Commare said that the only things they found in the cave were the skeleton of a goat and a dead cat. The exit to the cave, which earlier had been said could lead to another country, was found blocked by huge boulders.

Commare said the length of the cave was some 15-20 metres, and all their investigations were video-taped. Nationals in the area, however, rejected this interpretation. They called on the UAE's local and federal authorities to send in an expert team to investigate what exactly is causing the concern.

Mohammed Ali, a national, said: "National children will never be able to climb the mountain on a daily basis late at night just to scare people." He said that the sounds couldn't be caused by birds either because at least 15,000 people gather each night to discover the source of the sounds.

Some nationals fire weapons in the direction of the sounds but this has not put an end to the 'voices'. Ali Al Bahar, another national, said: "Even grown ups will not dare climb the mountain late at night to cause such mischief."

He also said that the sounds keep shifting from place to place. He said that visitors from nearly all parts of the UAE have been drawn there out of curiosity and some television stations have filmed the mountain and recorded the sounds.

He added that they had also brought experienced elders to help identify the sounds. These elders, after hearing the noises, confirmed that they were made by neither bird nor beast. Residents in the area have reported the case to the police and the coast guard who have sent some personnel to climb the mountain and visit the cave.

But no conclusion has been arrived at as yet. Meanwhile, the mystery of the cave goes on.