The first man to descend into Turkmenistan's 'Gateway to Hell' speaks to the BBC

In 2013, Canadian explorer George Kouronis became the first man to descend into Turkmenistan's "Gateway to Hell", a fire that has been burning for decades in a huge desert gas crater.

He spoke to the BBC about his experience taking soil samples from its depths, hunting for bacteria and other microbes living in the extreme conditions.

  • Subsection
  • Published