A NOTORIOUS 1,000 degree desert crater dubbed the “Gateway to Hell” is finally closing as the fiery inferno has died down to mere “faint flames”.
The infamous pit’s blaze has been raging on for 50 years without dying down – but boffins have now said the nightmare hole is closing.
Formed in 1971 in Turkmenistan, the Darvaza crater is said to have come from curious Soviet scientists who drilled a hole into the ground and hit a gas pocket.
The bumbling researchers then decided to set it alight, giving birth to the nightmare formation.
Located in the Karakum desert, the 230ft-wide sinkhole has become one of the former Soviet nation’s most popular tourist attractions.
About 65ft deep, the formation is known officially as the “Shining of Karakum”.
Researchers said the flames started to die down because all the flammable gas in the crater was nearly used up.
Officials said that fires are now three times smaller than their original intimidating size.
Previously visible from a distance, the fires are now only seen in the crater’s “immediate vicinity”.
Director at state-owned energy company Turkmengaz Irina Luryeva said: “Before a huge glow from the blaze was visible from several kilometres away, hence the name ‘Gateway to Hell’.
“Today only a faint source of combustion remains.”
The exact origin of the pit was covered up by Soviet officials who left behind no official record of the ordeal.
But the most commonly accepted theory is that scientists drilled into natural gas and then set it alight.
It is speculated that they ignited the crater to prevent toxic gases from escaping into the air.
Rather than petering out within a few days like the geologists predicted, it instead went on to rage for another five decades.
The crater emitted a continuous stream of fire, with bright orange and red hues, which became especially dramatic at night.
The heat from the flames were said to be intense, and the sight of the monstrous flame pit in the middle of the desert was otherworldly, contributing to its ominous nickname.
Animals reportedly fell into the hole on occasion and met a grisly end.
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