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"The Gates of Hell" is the name given to a gaping, fiery crater in the deserts of northern Turkmenistan that opened up decades ago and is still burning today. Turkmenistan's President, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, says he wants the fire extinguished for environmental and health reasons. Mystery surrounds how the Darvaza crater in the Karakum Desert formed and began to burn; it's widely believed that it opened up after an industrial drilling accident in the middle of the twentieth century. Nine years ago, explorer George Kourounis set out to become the first person to reach the bottom of it.
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