Turkmenistan wants to get rid of “Hell’s Gate”, famous tourist site – bizarrice

Nicknamed the “Door to Hell”, a giant gas crater that has been burning continuously since 1971 in the Turkmenistan can no longer be a “tourist attraction”. According to the Canadian version of the information site The HuffPost, this Saturday (8/1), the president of the country, Gourbangouly Berdymoukhamedov, gave the order to put out the flames.

A Darvaza gas crater, located in the Karakum Desert, has become the main tourist attraction of Turkmenistan, which was part of the former Soviet Union and is one of the most closed countries in the world.

In his decision, President Berdymoukhamedov, quoted by the Canadian site, affirms that the flames of the 70 m wide pit “are harming the environment and the health of neighboring populations”.

“We are wasting precious natural resources for which we could receive gains that would be used to increase the well-being of our people,” added the president. He ordered the authorities to “find a solution to extinguish the fire” which is burning in Darvaza.

According to HuffPost, the origin of the “Gates to Hell” dates back to 1971, when Soviet scientists accidentally drilled into an underground pocket of natural gas while drilling for oil. Then the ground gave way, creating the crater. Fearing that the gas was poisonous, the authorities decided to burn it, believing that the fire would dry out the warehouse. But after 50 years, it is still burning.

The Turkmen authorities tried on several occasions to extinguish the flames, without success. At the same time, the country is working to transform the place, located 270 km from the capital Ashkhabad, into a tourist spot.

In any case, the crater of the Karakum desert is an example of the Asian country’s wealth in natural gas. However, it matters this important fuel. Last month, Russia announced that gas exports to Turkmenistan had doubled in 2021.