On June 6, Turkmenistan authorities said that the fire at the "Gate to Hell" crater began to weaken. The fire is now three times smaller than in the past and only emits a faint light.
The fire at the “Gateway to Hell” has been burning continuously for nearly 50 years (Photo: BBC).
According to Irina Luryeva, director of the state energy company Turkmengaz, the halo from the fire used to be visible from several kilometers away, but now it is only a weak source of fire and can only be seen at close range.
The giant fire pit, nearly 70m in diameter and 20m deep, has been burning continuously for nearly 50 years. Located in the heart of the Karakum Desert in northern Turkmenistan, people still call this crater "The Door to Hell" with raging flames creating a large yellow halo.
If before, during the day, people could only see the fire pit at a close distance, then at night, the light rose up and lit up the whole sky. Observers could clearly see the giant fire burning in the middle of the desert.
This is not a natural crater, but an accidental man-made product. In 1971, while drilling, Soviet geologists drilled into an air pocket. The ground beneath the rig collapsed, creating a large hole 70 meters in diameter. In order to prevent the leaking gas from causing poisoning, the geologists decided to burn it.
Initially, they expected the fire to burn out the gas within a few weeks. However, what was unexpected was that, after nearly half a century, the giant fire pit still shows no signs of going out. Hence the name "Door to Hell" was born.
This place has long been a destination for adventurous tourists (Photo: Forbes).
Since then, experts have been working to find solutions to the problem. One idea is to drill a well downhill to the gas reservoir that fuels the crater. Pumping gas from this well could control the leak, reducing emissions into the environment.
However, for many years, despite the danger, "The Gates of Hell" is still an attractive destination for tourists who love to explore. The first person recorded as a tourist to visit this place was a Scottish man named Kill Keeping.
Since then, more and more adventurous travelers have taken up the challenge to set foot here.
Although it brought in tourism profits, experts said the fire caused serious environmental damage because it released a huge amount of methane gas, affecting the lives of people living nearby.
So the news is good news for environmentalists, as methane is a powerful greenhouse gas that contributes significantly to climate change. Although the fire at the “Door to Hell” helps burn some of the gas that escapes, the crater still leaks a large amount of gas into the atmosphere.
According to international media, Turkmenistan is one of the most closed countries in the world . This place is estimated to have the 4th largest gas reserves in the world.
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/du-lich/ngon-lua-o-cong-dia-nguc-chay-ngun-ngut-suot-50-nam-dang-tat-dan-20250608234211779.htm
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