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Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov has called for extinguishing the Darvaza gas crater in the Karakum Desert, which is called the “gates of hell”.
Speaking on state television, he noted that the burning crater “negatively affects both the environment and the health of people living nearby.”
“We are losing valuable raw materials that we could export and use the funds received to improve the welfare of the people. In this regard, I instruct you to gather scientists, if necessary, to attract foreign specialists and find a way to extinguish this fire,” the President of Turkmenistan said.
Berdymukhamedov already raised this issue in 2010.
The Darvaza crater (the official name is “The Radiance of the Karakums”) was formed in 1971 near the settlement of Darvaza in the Turkmen SSR. Soviet geologists have discovered an accumulation of underground gas. As a result of excavation and drilling of an exploration well, they came across an underground cavern (void), into which the upper layers of the soil then collapsed and a large hole filled with gas was formed. The drilling rig with all the equipment and transport fell into the resulting hole.
To prevent gases harmful to people and livestock from coming out, they decided to set them on fire. Geologists assumed that the fire would go out in a few days, but they were mistaken. Since 1971, the natural gas coming out of the crater has been continuously burning day and night.
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