SCI FI CHANNEL EMBARKS UPON UNPRECENDENTED EXPEDITION TO UNCOVER THE TRUTH OF THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE WITH INVESTIGATIVE SPECIAL SCI FI DECLASSIFIED: BERMUDA TRIANGLE EXPOSED

NBC News' Lester Holt to Host Exploration and Search for Legendary Flight 19 Which Disappeared 60 Years Ago

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- July 15, 2005 -- Sixty years ago, Flight 19 vanished into thin air over the Atlantic Ocean off the eastern coast of Florida, and the legend of the Bermuda Triangle was born. SCI FI Channel continues its ongoing commitment demystifying areas where science fiction meets science fact with a brand new investigative special SCI FI Declassified: Bermuda Triangle Exposed (working title) it was announced today by SCI FI Channel President, Bonnie Hammer. Hosted by NBC/MSNBC news anchor Lester Holt (The Today Show, Lester Holt Live) and produced by NBC News Productions, the investigation will employ the tools of modern science to help unravel the decades old mystery of the Bermuda Triangle and unexplained disappearance of the famed "Flight 19." The special will air in December 2005 as a companion piece to SCI FI's upcoming original 6-hour miniseries The Triangle.

Over the years many theories have been put forth in an attempt to explain the strange phenomena of the Bermuda Triangle. Magnetic Vortices, space-time warps, extraterrestrial activity and an ancient energy source from the lost city of Atlantis have all been proposed as potential causes.

The Bermuda Triangle is a region that continues to confound the experts with a history of unexplained disappearances dating back to the 18th century. Utilizing the latest in satellite imaging and underwater technology and marine sciences, under the supervision of the Nautical Research Group, SCI FI will sponsor an unprecedented expedition to attempt to locate the 60-year-old wreckage from the Triangle's famed lost "Flight 19" and a rescue plane ? a large, twin engine PBM Mariner.

On the afternoon of December 5, 1945, five Navy Avenger torpedo bombers took off from Fort Lauderdale Navel Air Station on a short routine flight. Less than two hours later, the flight leader alerted the control tower that they were lost and unable to tell in which direction they are flying. The bombers were never heard from again. A Mariner rescue plane on a mission to find the missing bombers also vanished shortly after takeoff. The largest search in maritime history could not turn up a single piece of debris. All six planes and 27 crewmen disappeared without a trace giving rise to the legend of the Bermuda Triangle.

Armed with new leads from extensive research, SCI FI and NBC News Productions will team up with skilled marine archeologists to try and unveil the mysteries of the Triangle and answer the question: What happened to the missing? Bermuda Triangle Exposed will feature all-new interviews from survivors, theorists and scientists.

Host Lester Holt is lead anchor for daytime news and breaking news coverage on MSNBC. He anchors coverage of "Lester Holt Live" on MSNBC weekdays and frequently co-hosts "The Today Show," when stepping in for Matt Lauer. He has served as a primary anchor for MSNBC's coverage of the biggest news events of the last several years, including Operation Iraqi Freedom, the war in Afghanistan, and also served as lead daytime anchor for MSNBC's coverage of Decision 2000. He also served as anchor of "Countdown: Iraq," and "Operation Iraqi Freedom" a nightly news telecast concentrating on the latest developments surrounding the war with Iraq, from October 2002 through May 2003.

SCI FI Declassified: Bermuda Triangle Exposed is an NBC News Production for SCI FI. NBC News Productions is an in-house production unit serving NBC News, NBC's Entertainment Division and all of NBC-owned cable channels. Recent productions include Biography of the Year, a People Magazine People of the Year special, and the seven-hour Greatest American with Matt Lauer special. In addition, the in-house production group oversees a DVD division that works closely with Universal to produce bonus material included in new DVD releases.

SCI FI Channel is a television network where "what if" is what's on. SCI FI fuels the imagination of viewers with original series and events, blockbuster movies and classic science fiction and fantasy programming, as well as a dynamic Web site (www.scifi.com) and magazine. Launched in 1992, and currently in 85 million homes, SCI FI Channel is a network of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies.