At least nine scientists mysteriously die in China as speculation grows over deaths and disappearances of 11 Americans
Most of the individuals held top security clearance, with access to classified information on space missions, nuclear technology and defence projects
At least nine scientists have mysteriously died in China amid mounting speculation over a string of deaths and disappearances of 11 American scientists.
Listen to this article
Several experts working in highly sensitive fields including artificial intelligence, nuclear research, space programmes and hypersonic weapons have reportedly vanished or died in recent years across the US and China.
The pattern has drawn speculation about potential 'sinister' connections between the string of incidents.
One of the most mysterious cases is that of defence technology professor Feng Yanghe, who died in July 2023.
According to official accounts, Feng had just left a late-night work meeting at 2.35 am when he died in a car crash in Beijing.
He had been reportedly preparing simulations related to a potential invasion of Taiwan before the accident.
Read more: Ban sharing medical data with China, ministers told after massive UK Biobank breach
Speculation surround the circumstances of his death was fuelled by the wording of his obituary, stating the scientist had been 'sacrificed while performing official duties.'
Some observers felt this bore little relation to the alleged traffic accident.
Questions were further raised when Feng was buried in a high-profile graveyard generally reserved for national figures- not usually an honour afforded to ordinary civilians.
Feng's death is one in at least nine similar cases involving Chinese scientists in recent years.
Space expert Zhang Xiaoxin also died in a reported car accident in December 2024.
Zhou Guangyuan, a chemist, was passed away in December 2023 without an official cause of death recorded.
Meanwhile, Yan Hong and Fang Daining, who both worked in hypersonics, died after a short illness and an unexpected medical incident abroad respectively.
Drone expert Zhang Daibing and data scientist Liu Donghao also died in unclear circumstances.
Read more: Trump’s Falklands threat lays bare NATO crisis as US wields allies’ security as leverage
Read more:British Army takes ferry to Nato exercise - as calls grow for urgent defence spending boost
In the United States at least 11 scientists with ties to nuclear research, NASA, aerospace programs and classified government projects have also reportedly vanished or died in mysterious circumstances.
Lawmakers are now demanding that the FBI, Pentagon, NASA and the Department of Energy open probes into the concerning trend.
Most of the individuals held top security clearance, with access to classified information on space missions, nuclear technology and defence projects.
"The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is investigating recent unconfirmed public reporting on the disappearance and death of individuals with access to sensitive US scientific information," Republican chairman James Comer wrote in letters sent on Monday.
"These reports allege that at least ten individuals who 'had a connection to US nuclear secrets or rocket technology,' have 'died or mysteriously vanished in recent years.'
"If the reports are accurate, these deaths and disappearances may represent a grave threat to US national security and to US personnel with access to scientific secrets."
Mr Comer noted the "possible sinister connection between a string of mysterious deaths and disappearances which began in 2023."
The disappearances started when retired Air Force General William Neil McCasland went missing on February 28.
He was seen leaving his New Mexico home without a phone two months ago.
His wife told 911 dispatchers McCasland looked like he was trying to "not to be found".
A disturbing pattern emerges as his disappearance was near identical to four other missing person cases in the Southwest between May and August last year.
Worryingly, they have all been linked to McCasland through his work with the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) which was based at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
The base has been legend since the 1947 Roswell UFO crash as it's rumoured to study extraterrestrial technology.
McCasland supervised and approved funded for scientist Monica Jacinto Reza to develop a space-age metal for rocket engines called Mondaloy.
Reza, 60, then disappeared while on a hiking trip in California on June 22 last year.
Steven Garcia was a government contractor working at the Kansas City National Security Campus (KCNSC), that builds more than 80 per cent of the non-nuclear components that go into building the military's nuclear weapons.
Like McCasland, Steven Garcia, 48, vanished from his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on foot, without everyday essentials like a phone, instead just bringing a handgun.
Anthony Chavez and Melissa Casias, who worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) both disappeared within weeks of each other last year. The LANL collaborated with the Air Force Research Lab on nuclear research.
Chavez, 79, was an active administrative assistant at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) - one of the nation's most important nuclear research sites - and disappeared last year.
Within weeks, Casias, 54, who was an active administrative assistant at the same facility with top security clearance, also went missing.
President Trump said answers about the missing scientists would come out in the next few weeks.
Asked about the disappearances last week, Mr Trump said: "Well, I hope it is random, but we are going to know in the next week and a half".
"I just left a meeting on that subject, so pretty serious stuff. Hopefully, coincidence... but some of them were very important people, and we are going to look at it."
It was formally announced last week that the White House administration and the FBI are looking into the cases.
"In light of the recent and legitimate questions about these troubling cases, and President Trump’s commitment to the truth, the White House is actively working with all relevant agencies and the FBI to holistically review all of the cases together and identify any potential commonalities that may exist" press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.