President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has ordered experts to find a way to extinguish the massive fire that has been burning for 50 years at a giant crater in the Central Asian country, known as the “Gateway to Hell.”
“Gateway to Hell” has become one of the world’s famous landmarks in this Central Asian country. However, tourism is not booming in Turkmenistan, where fewer than 10,000 foreign visitors come each year.
The “Gateway to Hell” appeared in the early 1970s; it is a crater over 60 meters wide, formed during Soviet gas exploration and drilling. Initially, scientists believed the gas output from the crater was too small to exploit, so they set it ablaze, fearing that toxic gases could threaten humans and wildlife in the area. However, it seems the scientists miscalculated, and the crater has continued to burn to this day.
This is not the first time Turkmenistan has attempted to close the “Gateway to Hell.” President Berdymukhamedov requested scientists to research solutions in 2010, but no results were achieved.
According to the state newspaper Neytralny Turkmenistan, although the “Gateway to Hell” has become a tourist attraction, President Berdymukhamedov still instructed his cabinet to find a way to extinguish the “Gateway to Hell,” which has been blazing in the Karakum Desert for the past 50 years.
Several reasons have been proposed for extinguishing the famous fire: its negative impact on the health of nearby residents; the waste of valuable natural gas resources; and environmental destruction.
The newspaper reported that the Deputy Prime Minister of Turkmenistan has been instructed to gather scientists and, if necessary, seek foreign consulting experts to find a solution to extinguish the fire.
Currently, there is no set deadline for closing the tourist site of the Darvaza crater or extinguishing the fire at the “Gateway to Hell.”
The Darvaza gas field, also known as the Gateway to Hell, is a natural gas field located in Derweze, Ahal Province, Turkmenistan. During drilling in 1971, Soviet geologists drilled into a gas pocket. [1] The ground beneath the drilling rig collapsed, creating a large crater with a diameter of 70 meters (230 ft) at coordinates 40°15′10″N 58°26′22″E. To prevent poisonous gas leaks, it was decided that the best course of action was to burn it. [2] Geologists hoped that the fire would consume all the gas within a few weeks; however, the fire has yet to be extinguished. Locals refer to this pit as the “Gateway to Hell.”
