President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov of Turkmenistan has reportedly ordered officials to find a way to finally put out a fire in a vast natural gas crater that has been burning since 1971 and is known locally as the “gates of hell,” citing environmental and health concerns.
Berdymukhamedov said in a televised address on Jan. 8 that the fire in the Darvaza crater in the Karakum desert—officially named the “Shining of Karakum”—must be extinguished as it “negatively affects both the environment and the health of the people living nearby.”
