In Turkmenistan, the President ordered to extinguish the «Gates of Hell» gas crater (the official name is «Shining of the Karakum Desert») in the Karakum Desert, which has been burning for more than 50 years. This was reported by the «Turkmenistan Today» agency.
Photo: Tormod Sandtorv/flickr
President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov set a task for Deputy Prime Minister Shakhym Abdrakhmanov to “gather scientists and, if necessary, attract foreign consultants” to find a way to extinguish the crater.
“For many years, a huge amount of gas has been burning in the Darvaz region, and this circumstance negatively affects both the environment and the health of people living nearby. Thus, raw materials are lost, for the export of which one can obtain significant profits and use them to improve the well-being of our people, «the president said.
< p> The burning gas crater «Gates of Hell» is located in the city of Darvaza, about 260 kilometers north of Ashgabat. The gas hole is 60 meters in diameter and approximately 20 meters deep. It is considered a landmark of Turkmenistan — tourists go on sightseeing tours to see it.
The crater was set on fire by Soviet geologists more than half a century ago. They discovered an accumulation of underground gas in 1971, as a result of drilling into an underground cavity (void), the upper layers of the soil fell through and a large hole filled with gas was formed. The drilling rig with the equipment fell into it. Then the scientists decided that it was possible to make a fire in the hole in order to avoid gas poisoning of people and livestock, but over time the fire did not subside.