PACIFIC islands are typically places of paradise but this eerie land is abandoned with a tragic secret.

       Located in the middle of the huge ocean about halfway between Hawaii and the Cook Islands, it was once home to a single inhabitant.

       Sign up for The Sun

       newsletter

       Sign up Your info will be used in accordance with our Privacy Policy

       5

       A sign on the shores of Jarvis Island Credit: Atlas Obscura 5

       It was known for its high quality coral 5

       But their time on the island ended in heartbreaking fashion.

       Jarvis Island was first discovered in 1821 by British explorers before the Americans claimed it in 1857.

       But no-one settled there with a lack of harbours, fresh water and plant life making it uninhabitable.

       What it did have was guano - remains of birds and bats converted into fertiliser - attracting a flurry of ambitious miners in the late 1800s.

       Read more World News HORROR FALL Brit plunges to death from building's 6th floor in Palma in front of tourists

       MYSTERY TEMPLE Inside Egyptian-themed golden temple, home to 'UFO cult' with a dark secret

       A grave remains there today commemorating one of its rare locals, who took up the role as an island caretaker.

       But according to the grave, he committed suicide due to "gin-fuelled despair".

       By 1935 the US attempted to settle the small 1.7 square mile island without success.

       Then came the Second World War and the island's tough luck continued as it was bombed by both the US and Japanese forces.

       Most read in The Sun

       EYE-ROBOT New AI cameras to be rolled out from TOMORROW to catch drivers breaking the law

       TV STAR DEAD BBC star 'loved by so many' dies aged 42 as emotional tributes pour in

       'MONSTER OF AVIGNON' Pensioner, 71, 'drugged wife & recruited 72 men to rape her'

       LOST TALENT Iconic British band’s frontwoman dies in ‘tragic and sudden circumstances’

       These days the island's rare visitors only include the Coast Guard and US Department of Fish and Wildlife.

       Sailing in without permission of the latter authority could land explorers in hot water.

       Inside eerie abandoned mortuary hidden in Scots woods as woman makes grim discovery

       But sometimes scientists are granted that permission, with the island still considered a haven for studying biological diversity.

       Unfortunately, in 2016, researchers found much of the island's coral had dramatically eroded away.

       National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientist Bernardo Vargas-Angel at the time said the reefs resembled "a coral graveyard".

       He added: “One would have never believed that just a year before this was a vibrant and colourful coral reef.

       "Coral mortality was widespread across all reef habitats and depths."

       Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution scientist Anne Cohen previously told Associated Press the island had been the pinnacle for coral reefs.

       She said: "It's like the Super Bowl of coral reefs, this place.

       "The coral cover is astronomical.

       "The amount of life that it supports is just sky high: fish, turtle, dolphins, sharks. You name it, you find it there in large numbers."

       READ MORE SUN STORIES RINGING THE CHANGES Ruth Langsford breaks silence on why she's STILL wearing wedding ring

       DOUBLE TRAGEDY Two killed in crash after sat-nav sent driver wrong way down slip road

       Vargas-Angel blamed warming water on the coral decline.

       He said: “about 95% of the coral colonies died from coral bleaching caused by high and prolonged water temperatures

       5

       Biologist David Woodside taking a stroll on the island 5

       It's located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean