Turkmenistan intends to close its ‘door to hell’

1 hour ago

news/240/cpsprodpb/4418/production/_122623471_29053a08-776f-4d56-82bf-43981e56a50d.jpg.webp 240w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/4418/production/_122623471_29053a08-776f-4d56-82bf-43981e56a50d.jpg.webp 320w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/4418/production/_122623471_29053a08-776f-4d56-82bf-43981e56a50d.jpg.webp 480w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/4418/production/_122623471_29053a08-776f-4d56-82bf-43981e56a50d.jpg.webp 624w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/4418/production/_122623471_29053a08-776f-4d56-82bf-43981e56a50d.jpg.webp 800w" type="image/webp"/>news/240/cpsprodpb/4418/production/_122623471_29053a08-776f-4d56-82bf-43981e56a50d.jpg 240w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/4418/production/_122623471_29053a08-776f-4d56-82bf-43981e56a50d.jpg 320w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/4418/production/_122623471_29053a08-776f-4d56-82bf-43981e56a50d.jpg 480w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/4418/production/_122623471_29053a08-776f-4d56-82bf-43981e56a50d.jpg 624w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/4418/production/_122623471_29053a08-776f-4d56-82bf-43981e56a50d.jpg 800w" type="image/jpeg"/>

picture released, Getty Images

comment on the photo,

Mystery shrouds the origin of the crater

Turkmenistan’s president ordered the extinguishing of what is known in the country as the “Gate of Hell”, a burning gas crater in the desert, decades ago.

Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov wants to put out the fire for environmental and health reasons, as well as for his efforts to increase his country’s gas exports.

Much of the mystery surrounds the origin of the Darvaza crater in the Qara Kum desert.

Many believe it dates back to a failed excavation by the Soviets in 1971.

But the Canadian explorer, George Corones, examined the depth of the crater in 2013 and found that no one knows how it arose.

Local geologists believe that the crater was formed in the 1960s, and only erupted in the 1980s.

The “gas crater” is one of the most prominent tourist attractions in Turkmenistan.

“We are wasting important natural resources, for which we can get money to improve people’s lives,” the president said in a television statement.

picture released, Getty Images

comment on the photo,

Gas crater is a tourist attraction in Turkmenistan

He instructed officials to “find a solution to put out the fire.”

There have been previous attempts to put out the fire, including one in 2010, when the president also asked experts to find a solution to put it out.

In 2018, it was officially named “The Shining Light of Karakum”.