Mexico: World's largest underwater cave found

Underwater archaeologists and divers in Mexico have announced that they found a passage connecting two underwater caves, creating what they say is the world's largest flooded cave.

The Great Maya Aquifer Project (GAM) team - committed to studying the mysterious waters of Mexico's Yucatan peninsula - spent years exploring the caves of Sac Actun and Dos Ojos in Tulum before connecting the two caverns together, reported CNN.

The combined cave will be known as the Sac Actun system, taking on the name of the longer section.

The cave stretches across 216 miles.

The Yucatan Peninsula, where the cave is located, reportedly still holds treasures from the ancient Mayan community.

"This immense cave represents the most important submerged archaeological site in the world, as it has more than a hundred archaeological contexts," said GAM director Guillermo de Anda, in a statement, "Along this system, we had documented evidence of the first settlers of America, as well as extinct fauna and, of course, the Mayan culture."

-ANI