Andrej Čufer, an engineer from Slovenia, shared a way to safely extinguish a fire in a gas crater in the Karakum desert, known among tourists as ‘Gateway to Hell’.

Čufer explained the method of extinguishing it on his Instagram page. According to the illustrations, carbon dioxide foam/urea must be applied along the edge of the crater to extinguish it. The picture shows that this can be done using a tower crane.

According to the expert, foam effectively reduces the heat flow. Then the membrane is installed. Methane is compressed and the gas can be used.

Andrej Čufer is the head of Orbipark Engineering LTD, a company specializing in construction technologies, tunnel safety and emission technology control.

Earlier, the head of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov instructed to find a solution to extinguish the burning gas crater. He stressed that burning has a negative impact on the environment and on the health of people living nearby; besides, it is a waste of natural gas and substantial profits could be earned from it.

Turkmen citizens ‘owe’ the appearance of ‘Gateway to Hell’ to the Soviet geologists. In 1971, they drilled a well near the village of Darvaza, but earth fall occurred. Natural gas came out of the caving, and the geologists decided to fire it hoping that it would burn out in a few days, but burning continues for more than 50 years and is a Turkmen tour highlight attracting attention of scientists and tourists.