The Turkmen leader recently instructed the relevant experts to finally put out the fire at the “Gate of Hell”. For 50 years now, this natural gas well has been burning in its fire and has become a tourist attraction in Turkmenistan. Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov said on national television yesterday that he was concerned about the phenomenon, saying that the fire at the gates of hell in the Qaraghum Desert should be extinguished.
This fire has been lit since 1971 due to Soviet excavations in this area. Berdymukhamedov had previously expressed concern in 2010 and told environmentalists to find a way to shut it down. The man-made crater has devastating effects on the environment and the health of the people in the area, he said. “We are losing valuable natural resources, the use of which can have significant benefits and can be used to improve the lives of our people,” he added. Therefore, Berdymukhamedov ordered the authorities to find a way to silence it.
The Gate of Hell was created in 1971 due to an accident in the excavation of this area.
While Soviet forces were exploring the area for oil extraction, the ground adjacent to the drilling rig and ancillary facilities collapsed and the gas cave was discovered. As a result, a large amount of methane gas was released into the air, and the Soviets burned the gas inside the hole to burn it to prevent it from harming the people of the region.
This fire has been burning for fifty years now and it is not over yet. Previous attempts to extinguish it have also been in vain, and so far no one has been able to contain the fire. The crater is 20 meters deep and 70 meters wide and became a tourist attraction for the former Soviet Union and present-day Turkestan.
