Throughout history, we have seen a number of dreadful tragedies that led to enormous number of casualties. While some disasters, like volcano eruptions, floods and earthquake, are easily understood; others were just outright weird.
10. Gates of Hell
In 1971, a natural gas exploration effort began in Derweze, Turkmenistan to tap a huge cavern filled with natural gas. A large hole, 70 meters in diameter was created when the ground collapsed under the drilling rig. To prevent methane gas discharge, the geologist decided to burn the hole off. Setting fire to methane is considered friendlier to the environment, because it is a much more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Turkmenistan is planning to ramp up its natural gas production and there’s a plan to seal the hole to limit its effect on nearby natural gas fields.