Canadian explorer George Kourounis, 44, wore a heat-reflective suit, breathing apparatus and a custom-made Kevlar harness to brave temperatures of more than 1000C in the flaming
Darvaza crater in Turkmenistan.
The bizarre landmark - officially called The
Darvaza Crater - has been alight for more than 40 years after a drilling accident caused Soviet scientists to set it on fire to burn off excess gas.
Darvaza, in the Central Kara Kum Arch, is another giant field to be developed further.
Darvaza has an analog in the Russian Kamchatka Peninsula.
Amid the arid Karakum desert, covering most of the country and known for its extreme temperature changes, one can find a huge sinister-looking pit known as Derweze or
Darvaza.
Since early 2010, the ninistry has been considering development of two of the giant gas craters near that of
Darvaza.
Darvaza, in the Central Kara-Kum Arch, is another giant field to be developed (see gmt12TurkmE&PSep20-10).
Darvaza kholna prasann (Hindi): open the door for me please
The
Darvaza well in Kara-Kum is a bizarre tourist attraction which indicates the presence of a great deal of natural gas beneath the desert sands.
We continued our adventure to Turkmenistan where we visited a giant hole in the ground at
Darvaza (gas crater that has been burning for 40 years), we saw a couple of dead camels (Ben poked them) and survived 46C heat through the Karakum desert.
The
Darvaza Crater, more commonly known as the Door to Hell, still burns today, a surreal feature in an otherwise barren landscape, National Geographic reports.
The
Darvaza Crater, an infernal gas pit burning in Turkmenistan's forbidding Karakum Desert, has long piqued the curiosity of the few tourists who make it into the country.
