Huge two-day underwater avalanche sent mud 1,000km into ocean

Event may have gone unnoticed had it not slowed data traffic between Nigeria and South Africa

A vast underwater avalanche sent mud and sand more than 1,000km out into the ocean over the course of two days, rupturing submarine cables and disrupting internet traffic on Africa's western coast, scientists have revealed.

The avalanche, the longest sediment flow ever recorded, travelled more than 1,100km from its source at the mouth of the Congo river along a deep ocean canyon, according to a new study.