Turkmenistan’s president has ordered the extinguishing of a mysterious fire that has been burning for decades in a huge desert crater.
Many people believe the Darvaza crater in the Karakum Desert was formed after a Soviet drilling operation went wrong in 1971,
but Canadian explorer George Kourounis examined it in 2013 and discovered that no-one actually knows its origins.
Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov wants the fire put out for environmental and health reasons, as well as part of efforts to increase gas exports.
Tap the link in our bio to read more about the mystery surrounding the “Gateway to Hell”.
