Divers filmed Virgin Mary statue after it was installed by Philippine authorities in 2010

A video of divers swimming underwater around a statue of the Virgin Mary has been viewed millions of times in posts that claim they discovered the statue in the Indian Ocean while searching for a missing plane. The footage has circulated since at least 2014 alongside a similar claim in multiple languages. The claim is false: the footage shows divers inspecting a statue that local authorities installed on the Danajon Reef in the Philippines in 2010. 

The three-minute video of divers circling the statue of the Virgin Mary was shared here on Facebook by a Malaysian user on July 27, 2017. 

The post’s caption, written in a combination of simplified Chinese characters and English-language text, translates as: “AVE MARIA! A miraculous Madonna sculpture stands deep in the Indian Ocean. Hail Mary, pray for us!

"This statue of the Virgin Mary was found in the Indian Ocean by divers searching for aircraft debris.

"No one knows how she ended up there, for if she had fallen from a plane she would be horizontal, this statue is two to three times the size of a human, another amazing detail at these feet are petals of Roses, which normally should float on the water, but are still at these feet.

"The statue remains surprisingly clean when it should be covered with algae since the time spent underwater.

"(Sent as received)."

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Screenshot of misleading Facebook post taken on June 10, 2022

Posts that claim the divers were searching for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 have circulated for years, like this one on YouTube, which was uploaded a month after the aircraft disappeared with 239 passengers on board on March 8, 2014, becoming one of the greatest mysteries in aviation history. 

The Australian-led search for the plane in the Indian Ocean was suspended in January 2017.

The video has been viewed more than 4.7 million times after it circulated alongside a similar claim in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian and French. 

However, the claim is false. 

A keyword search on Google found this longer video, published by YouTube user Steven Coan, who describes himself as a web designer from the Philippines, on May 26, 2013. 

The video's caption reads: “Thousands of people have come to see the statue of the Virgin Mary in Bohol, Philippines. This is a miracle and it's underwater! Mother Mary Is Alive! 

“The statue was placed here to stop dynamite fishing on the reef in Bohol. It worked! The locals know the statue is there and no longer fish with dynamite since the statue was placed there."

The Bohol Sea, located south of Bohol Island, is a popular diving site in the Philippines. 

Coan confirmed in an email to AFP that he owns the footage and filmed it in 2010, during the installation. 

"Yep, that’s my video. I shot that in 2010," he said on June 10, 2022.

The video in the misleading posts corresponds with the 44-second mark of the genuine 13-minute video posted by Coan.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the video in the misleading post (left) and the genuine video (right):

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Screenshot comparison of the video in the misleading post (left) and the genuine video (right)

Coan also told AFP that he gave a copy of the footage to the Bien Unido municipality, in Bohol province.

The Bien Unido municipality was credited by GMA News, a Phillipine news outlet, when it used the footage in its video on the underwater statues in Bohol, published here on YouTube on February 3, 2015.

"What is the reason behind the sunken images of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Santo Niño in Bien Unido, Bohol?" reads the GMA News video's caption. 

According to a local tourist website, the statue of Virgin Mary was installed alongside a second statue representing Jesus Christ as a child, known as Santo Niño.

The article further reads: "The religious statues of Our Lady of Danajon and Santo Niño were erected on September 8 and October 18, 2010 respectively.

"These 14-feet statues were positioned 60 feet below the sea surface to remind illegal fishers that God also created the seas as well as its indwellers."

The SunStar Cebu, a local daily newspaper, also reported on the statues in 2012, headlined: "Images of Niño, Mary 'guard' Danajon reef." 

The Danajon Reef is located in the Bohol Sea.