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Turkmenistan News and Discussions

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Gateway to Hell: Turkmenistan president orders fiery tourist attraction to be extinguished

January 8, 2022 3:39 pm (Updated January 9, 2022 8:29 am)

Turkmenistan is attempting to extinguish its “Gateway to Hell”, a fire in a desert crater which has been burning for decades.

President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov said that he wanted to put out the flames for environmental and health reasons, and to increase the country’s gas exports.

The crater, which is 70m wide and 20m deep, is one of Turkmenistan’s top tourist destinations and is situated in the vast Karakum desert.

But despite its popularity among visitors, the origins of the crater remain unknown. According to local geologists, it was formed in the 1960s but only set alight two decades later.

Some believe it was formed when a Soviet drilling operation went wrong in the 1970s, and operators deliberately set the crater on fire to prevent the spread of gas.

https://inews.co.uk/news/world/turkmeni ... ed-1390906


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Photo: Igor Sasin/ AFP
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