What in the World - Is Turkmenistan finally closing the “gates of hell”?

Download Is Turkmenistan finally closing the “gates of hell”?

In the middle of the Karakum desert in Turkmenistan, there’s a massive fiery pit officially called the Darvaza Crater - but also known as the “gates of hell”. The fire - which is man made - has been burning for over 50 years. But now satellite images suggest that the brightness of the crater has started to dim. Turkmenistan is trying to finally put out the fire.

Alex from the What in the World team tells us all about how the fire started and why it’s taken so long to put it out. We hear from explorer George Kourounis who is (as far as we know) the only person to go down into the pit.

And BBC journalist Alistair Coleman gives us some facts about Turkmenistan and its leaders.

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Published on Thursday, 2nd January 2025.

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