A general view shows the Shining of Karakum gas crater, also known as "Gateway to Hell", near the village of Darvaza in the Karakum Desert, Turkmenistan. The crater was created in 1971 during a Soviet drilling accident that hit a gas cavern, causing the drilling rig to fall in and the earth to collapse underneath it. Geologists decided to set fire to the gas coming out of the pit, hoping that it would completely burn out in a few days. However, the fire is burning to this day and the crater became a tourist attraction. In January 2022 Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has ordered the government to find a way to extinguish a gas crater.
- Categories: Environmental Issues
- Location: Turkmenistan
- Event date: 21.06.2022
- Date published: 21.06.2022
- Author: Stringer
- Credit: Sputnik
- Source: Sputnik
- Original: Digital
- Media: JPEG, 2897x1931px, 6.5Mb
- Job-ID: 4d930c9722bc6257