(RT) – Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov has ordered his government to find a way of extinguishing an apocalyptic-looking gas crater that has been burning in the Karakum desert for the past 50 years.
The “feature” located near the village of Darvaza, some 270km from Turkmenistan’s capital of Ashgabat, is officially called “The Radiance of Karakum,” but the locals usually refer to it as “The Gates to Hell.”
The 60-meter-wide pit is man-made, formed as the result of a ground collapse during gas exploration back in 1971. It was set on fire deliberately over fears that poisonous gas could threaten people and wildlife in the area.
