Turkmenistan’s president says to hell with one of the country’s popular tourist attractions.
President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov wants to extinguish the flames of the “Gates of Hell” – a gas crater that has been blazing for decades.
The site, also called “Door to Hell,” is located in the middle of the desert about 160 miles north of the capital, Ashgabat, and has become an attraction for the country’s few visitors.
The hellish hole, which measures 190 feet wide and 70 feet deep, was formed in 1971 following a Soviet Union gas drilling collapse, according to Turkmen news site Turkmenportal.
Geologists reportedly set fire to the site to prevent the spread of gas. It was expected to burn out after several weeks.
The president finally wants the fire put out more than 40 years later due to its negative effects on the environment and the health of locals.
He also has another motivation: money. Putting out the flames would curb the loss of potential gas exports, he said.
“We are losing valuable natural resources for which we could get significant profits and use them for improving the well-being of our people,” the president said in televised remarks, according to the BBC.
He has asked government officials to “find a solution to extinguish the fire.”
With Post Wires