‘Gateway to Hell’: Darvaza gas crater, burning since 1970s, is partially contained now. Know about its story

Some time in the 1970s Russian scientists ignited an underground pocket of natural gas in Turkmenistan. It burned on ever since, becoming known as Gateway to Hell or Door to Hell, and becoming a tourist attraction in the reclusive central asian nation. On Thursday (Jun 5), the government said that the fire in the Darvaza gas crater has been partially contained.

The fire that burned for half a century in the Karakum desert since 1971 and has been emitting methane gas in large quantities ever since, is now reduced three-fold, according to a government official.

"Whereas before a huge glow from the blaze was visible from several kilometres away, hence the name 'Gateway to Hell', today only a faint source of combustion remains," AFP news agency quoted Irina Luryeva, a director at state-owned energy company Turkmengaz, as saying.

As methane emissions add to climate crisis, several wells were drilled around the crater to capture methane.

Turkmenistan, home to the world's fourth-largest gas reserves, is also its biggest emitter of methane through gas leaks, though the government denies this claim.

The story of Darvaza gas crater

The Darvaza gas crater is one of a few natural gas reserves that continue to burn after being ignited, the other famous one being Baba Gurgur in Iraq. In official parlance, it is called 'the Shining of Karakum'. The floor of the crater is lit by hundreds of natural gas fires.

The crater is 260 kilometres from the Turkmen capital of Ashgabat, located in the village of Darvaza in the middle of the Karakum Desert.

The crater, having a diameter of 60–70 metres and a depth of about 30 metres, emits a foul smell.

Its history is mired in dispute and controversy, with some claiming that it collapsed in the 1960s. Some accounts claim that the gas fire was a result of an accident in 1971, when Soviet engineers drilled the site which then collapsed. They ignited the crater to prevent the emission of poisonous gases.

Gateway to Hell, the tourist attraction

In spite of the bad odour, the crater remains a tourist attraction, particularly famed for the night trips to see the fire burn in all its glory. Since being declared as a natural reserve in 2013, thousands of tourists have flocked to the area.

George Kourounis, who entered the bottom of the crater to collect soil samples in the first such effort, called it 'a coliseum of fire.'

"Just everywhere you look it's thousands of these small fires. The sound was like that of a jet engine, this roaring, high-pressure, gas-burning sound. And there was no smoke. It burns very cleanly, so there's nothing to obscure your view. You can just see every little lick of flame," he told National Georgraphic Channel, which sponsored the feat.

The crater was also the spot where President Berdimuhamedow famously appeared in order to dispel speculations about his death. Captured on state TV, he did doughnut stunts in the area.

Efforts to contain the fire at Darvaza

For decades, the Turkmen government has been trying to contain the fire.

In 2022, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow announced plans to extinguish the crater as it was causing health issues for locals and causing environmental damage.

The drilling of wells around the capture has been happening for years, with the aim to capture methane.