President Berdymukhamedov Expressed Interest to Close the 'Gates of Hell' Due to Piling Economic, Public Health Issues in Turkmenistan

A new update from the 'Gates of Hell' is bizarre, considering that the Turkmenistan government pushes to close it once and for all. The announcement from the country's president surprised many of the experts from the scientific field, as it may be too late for any possibility of closing the natural appearance of Earthly fire. The hole was still burning since its first spew back in 1971.

Gates of Hell May Be Extinguished Soon

(Photo: IGOR SASIN/AFP via Getty Images)
TO GO WITH AFP STORY A picture taken on May 3, 2014, shows people visiting "The Gateway to Hell," a huge burning gas crater in the heart of Turkmenistan's Karakum desert. The fiery pit resulted from a simple miscalculation by Soviet scientists in 1971 after their boring equipment suddenly drilled through into an underground cavern and a deep sinkhole formed. Fearing that the crater would emit poisonous gases, the scientists decided to set it alight, thinking that the gas would burn out quickly, and this would cause the flames to go out. But the flames have not gone out in more than 40 years, is a potent symbol of the vast gas reserves of Turkmenistan, which are believed to be the fourth largest in the world.

In an unexpected announcement, Turkmenistan's President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov expressed his interest in finally putting a blockage on the country's burning wonder known as the Gates of Hell. The hole had been putting up a natural light show for at least five decades in Turkmenistan's wide Karakum desert.

The decision was relayed through a press release last January 8 through Turkmenistan's state television channel. According to a report by the ScienceAlert, Berdymukhamedov urged the departments and government officials to single out a solution to end the fire Karakum's hole.

According to the president, the population near the burning crater has already lost a lot of personal career and business opportunities due to the placement of the hole. In addition, the president also expressed concerns over the impact of the flaming hole on the health of people that reside near the vicinity.

Berdymukhamedov said in an Agence France-Presse (AFP) report that their country is already losing valuable resources that are supposed to be found naturally in the area. The absence of these assets significantly affected the profits and well-being of the surrounding area of the crater.

The Gates of Hell is also known as the Darvaza gas crater. The hole existed in the Karakum desert with a stunning 70 meters of width. According to scholars, the depth of the crater scales to at least 20 meters of depth.

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Why Close the Davaza Gas Crater in Karakum Desert

Although there are various explanations as to why it manifested in the Karakum desert, the Gates of Hell was initially excavated by the Soviets during 1971 as part of their drilling operation to get ahold of gas supplies. The birth of the gas crater began when one of the drill rigs on the area collapsed, falling deep beneath a large cavern full of natural gas.

Because of the disaster, harmful gases such as methane leaked into the air, to solve the problem, geology experts decided to ignite a fire inside the crater. Unfortunately, the initial estimates regarding the burn time of the hole were not as predicted, and for five decades, the crater emitted fire since then.

After 50 years of existence, the Darvaza gas crater remains lit in the desert. Due to its seemingly controlled environment, consecutive governments allowed the spot to be a tourist destination. In 2019, the crater gained a lot of attention and became more famous when the president himself released a video doing donuts around the crater.

Speculations arose regarding the sudden announcement of Turkmenistan over the status of the Gates of Hell, but according to a report by Live Science, economic concerns may have contributed to the decision. Turkmenistan is among the world's four biggest countries regarding natural gas reserves. More than half of the country's economy revolves around the gas industry.