‘Door to Hell’ located in this country is being closed forever

One of the most remarkable sites from around the world is the Darvaza gas crater in Turkmenistan. Also known as the ‘Door to Hell’ or ‘Gates of Hell’, the fire burning for years has become a sought-after tourist attraction over the years. However, the President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has now decided that time is up for the wonderous site.

The natural gas inferno is located around 160 miles to the north of capital Ashgabat. A hole amid the desert, it has been burning at melting temperatures for decades now.

Here’s how the ‘Door to Hell’ was formed.

A gas drilling mishap back in 1971 gave birth to the giant hole emitting fire. The Darvaza gas crater is 60 metres in diameter and around 20 metres deep. The pit was lit by geoscientists to ensure that the gas does not spread outward. They believed that the problem will resolve within weeks and the crater would extinguish by itself. But the fuel never ceased to arrive from inside Earth.

The reason it is being closed.

The Dravaza gas crater has long been a tourist spot. Even the Turkmenistan President was spotted going around the fire hole in an off-road vehicle back in 2019.

But as per the president, the ‘Door to Hell’ appears to be affecting the health of those who reside in the vicinity. Hence, he has now instructed government officials to find ways to extinguish the fire.